December 10, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 5,1423

LONDON, Dec 9: Oil prices rose on Monday after hopes of an end to unrest and a general strike in Venezuela were dashed over the weekend, raising concern about the reliability of supplies from the world’s number-five exporter.

Reference Brent North Sea crude oil for January delivery climbed 21 cents to $25.67 per barrel here in late trading.

In New York, the light sweet crude contract for January delivery rose 20 cents to $27.13 a barrel in early deals.

Oil prices rose as a crippling general strike in Venezuela entered its second week amid fears of escalating violence and concern over oil exports.

“The situation in Venezuela injected a better tone and helped us regain the losses that were made late on Friday,” said Prudential Bache oil broker Tony Machacek.

GNI analyst Lawrence Eagles said news from Iraq, where officials late on Sunday handed over a dossier claiming it had no weapons of mass destruction, had taken a back seat for now.

“Little of note is expected from Iraq over the next few days as the Iraqi dossier is processed,” Eagles said. In a separate development, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar-Zangeneh said that the Opec did not need to boost production even in the event of a war in Iraq.

He argued that quota-busting by Opec members meant that supply was already too high.

“There is enough oil on the market, and there is no need to increase Opec production,” Namdar-Zangeneh said ahead of the cartel’s meeting in Vienna on Thursday.—AFP