OPEC

Oil prices, which have risen by as much as 20 percent this year due to fears of supply disruption caused by Middle Eastern and North African unrest; appear to be stabilizing in recent weeks.

U.S. oil prices were well off early highs on Friday after data showed U.S. home sales plunged in April, adding to the latest crop of weak economic signals, and wiping away most of the day's early gains sparked by a weaker dollar.

Buoyant commodities demand from emerging economies is straining tight supplies and putting more pressure on producers to ramp up output, Glencore's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Many theories are floating around the dramatic withdrawal of Ahmadinejad who usually likes world stages to whip up controversies and hog limelight through incendiary rhetoric.

Oil rose nearly 2 percent on Tuesday after Goldman Sachs raised its price forecasts for Brent crude, saying demand from economic growth will eat into stockpiles and OPEC spare capacity.

The West's energy watchdog urged oil producers to boost supply to cut fuel costs, to protect economic recovery, and appeared to suggest its members could release emergency stockpiles if OPEC does not act.

Oil rebounded by more than $2 on Monday due to bargain hunting after Brent crude lost almost $17 last week, but earlier bigger gains were pared after S&P cut Greece's debt rating and the dollar rallied against the euro.

Oil rebounded by more than $4 on Monday, helped by a weaker dollar as the euro strengthened and bargain hunting by traders and investors after Brent crude lost almost $17 last week.

Oil's sharp slide this week is welcome because high prices may hurt the world economy and in the longer term accelerate the use of alternative fuels, OPEC delegates said on Friday.

The steep slide in oil prices this week is welcome because crude above $120 a barrel may hurt the world economy, while crude at $90 to $100 is ideal, an OPEC delegate said on Friday.

Brent crude oil dipped below $124 a barrel on Tuesday as the dollar rose from a three-year low and traders weighed the impact on the market of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's death.

Donald Trump appeared at a rally in Las Vegas where he was treated like royalty and delivered a profanity-laden speech that decried politicians, particularly President Barack Obama.

Oil prices hovered near 31-month highs as a weak dollar and violence in North Africa and the Middle East outweighed concerns about slowing growth in top consumer the United States.

Businessman and television show host Donald Trump made a statement to reporters at a press conference in New Hampshire ahead of remarks by President Barack Obama on the issue of the President's release of the long-form birth certificate.

Donald Trump has made yet another high-profile enemy over his accusations that President Barack Obama may not have been born in the U.S.

Oil rose above $124 a barrel on Monday, pushed higher by an escalation of violence in the oil-producing Middle East and post-election unrest in OPEC member Nigeria.

Upward momentum from a raft of recent strong earnings reports helped lift U.S. stock index futures on Monday, although traders eyed rising oil prices as a potential negative for the market.

Oil prices rallied 3 percent on Wednesday as U.S. crude oil inventories fell for the first time in seven weeks and the dollar weakened further, fueling investor appetite for riskier assets.

Brent and U.S. crude oil futures rallied more than $2 on Wednesday, with Brent over $123 a barrel, helped by a weekly draw in U.S. crude inventories that confounded expectations for a stock build, and by a weaker dollar.

Iran, prominent member of the oil cartel Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and long-time adversary of the U.S, has objected to the move by certain members of the oil exporting cartel to raise output in order to clam markets and ease oil prices.

Brent crude oil futures fell below $120 on Tuesday for the first time in two weeks, pressured by concern over the economic outlook and the risk that high prices could erode demand.