OPEC

Crude oil prices are trading near $76 a barrel and topped $78 on Monday, within sight of the record high hit in August 2006 of $78.65.

Oil steadied above $76 a barrel on Tuesday, rebounding from an earlier drop as concerns over supply and speculative buying lent support.

U.S. crude price could top $90 a barrel this autumn and hit $95 by the end of the year if OPEC keeps oil production capped at current levels, Goldman Sachs said in a report issued on Monday.

Oil climbed to a new 11-month high above $77 a barrel on Friday after the International Energy Agency added to global supply concerns with forecasts of no let-up in fuel demand next year despite near-record prices.

OPEC can do nothing about the high price of oil because factors other than crude supply have sent the market to near record levels, Qatar's Energy Minister said on Wednesday.

World oil demand will rise faster than expected to 2012 while supply lags, the International Energy Agency said on Monday, leading to a tighter market than previously anticipated.

Oil surged to an 11-month high above $76 a barrel on Friday, closing in on the all-time record as Nigerian disruptions and OPEC output cuts stirred supply concerns amid rising U.S. refiner demand.

Oil edged down on Wednesday from a 10-month high above $73 a barrel, though analysts expected the rally to resume due to low U.S. fuel inventories and expectations of strong gasoline demand.

Oil eased to around $71 a barrel on Tuesday as investors weighed ample fuel stocks in top consumer the United States and the potential for higher Nigerian crude exports.

Oil prices fell by more than $1 to near $70 on Monday after Royal Dutch Shell said it was preparing to resume exports from a Nigerian oilfield abandoned over a year ago because of militant attacks.

Oil jumped more than a dollar to top $71 a barrel on Friday on fears a strike by Nigerian unions could intensify and disrupt shipments from the world's eighth-largest exporter.

Oil prices eased further on Thursday, pressured by bulging U.S. crude stockpiles and expectations that a strike in Nigeria would not slow shipments from the eighth largest oil exporter.

Oil prices eased on Tuesday, pulling back from a 10-month high posted in the previous session on concerns that a strike call in Nigeria could further cut crude output in the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter.

Oil prices slipped below $69 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by perceptions that supply and demand for oil is still finely balanced but pressured by expectations of a rise in U.S. gasoline supplies.

Oil prices dropped below $66 a barrel Tuesday amid expectations that gasoline supplies rose for the sixth straight week, easing worries of a crunch during the summer vacation season.

Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister said Tuesday that OPEC had curbed much of the world's surplus oil supplies through already agreed to output cuts, sending crude futures down and some industrial stocks in the U.S up.

OPEC President Nigeria called on its fellow OPEC countries to make deeper output cuts on Tuesday as prices tumbled to an 8-month low......

Oil steadied above $62 on Friday as burgeoning U.S. inventories and slower-than-expected economic growth balanced possible action from some OPEC producers to trim output to halt the decline in prices.

Nigeria, the world's eighth biggest oil exporter, is trimming supplies from October 1 after discussions with fellow OPEC members on how to stem a price fall, a senior Nigerian oil industry source said on Thursday.

Oil prices were slightly higher Tuesday after a rally the day before lifted crude futures by almost $1 a barrel on worries that the recent drop in prices could prompt OPEC to cut production.

Oil held above $61 on Tuesday after rebounding from a six-month low as speculators fear a deepening fall could prompt OPEC to rein in output.