March 12, 2002	Tuesday	Zilhaj 27, 1422

LONDON, March 11: Oil prices bubbled up to six-month highs above $24 a barrel on Monday, as the market took fright at US sabre-rattling towards major crude exporter Iraq.

A barrel of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery welled up as high as $24.05 at one point before settling back later at $23.55, still up 22 cents on Friday’s closing value.

In New York, the April light sweet crude contract gained 46 cents in early deals on Monday to $24.30 a barrel.

The oil market is always sensitive to Iraqi developments, given that Baghdad is a key crude exporter, currently supplying around 1.5 million barrels a day to world markets. Analysts said Monday’s price jump was directly down to the hostile verbal exchanges.

“It’s a war premium,” said J.J. Traynor, an oil expert with Deutsche Bank.

Opec meets this week in Vienna to review the market situation, with most experts anticipating more of the same from the 11-nation cartel.

“Opec compliance has been strong,” Traynor told AFP. “They have cut about a million barrels a day off the market so far this year. And all the indications are that they will carry on with that rate of cut through to the second quarter despite the fact that Russia is basically cheating.”

After June though, the stakes could change again. Opec’s rivals are considered unlikely to persist with their output cutback into the second half, and Opec itself is making no promises.

Opec’s own basket price of seven world crudes that it uses to guide production policy rose to $21.87 a barrel on Friday from $21.71 on Thursday.

World suppliers led by the Opec have restricted output through the first quarter in a bid to boost prices, and compliance with the pact has generally been good.—AFP