February 03, 2007	Saturday	Muharram 14, 1428

LONDON, Feb 2: Oil prices rose on Friday as Opec’s planned February production cut took effect and the market looked to cold winter weather in the United States, dealers said.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for March delivery added 36 cents to reach $57.08 per barrel in electronic deals.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, gained 30 cents to $57.60 per barrel in floor trading.

“Crude futures were higher, trading firmly above $57 per barrel, underpinned by colder weather in the US this week and shrinking distillate inventories,” said Sucden analyst Michael Davies.

“In addition, crude futures remain well supported, following the latest output cuts by Opec that took effect on Thursday.” The Opec, meeting in Nigeria in December, decided to cut production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from February 1, following a reduction of 1.2 million bpd in November.

Crude prices had fallen below $50 a barrel on January 18 in New York, hitting their lowest levels since May 2005 owing to a sharp increase in US crude stocks and a relatively mild winter across the northern hemisphere.

But with the advent of colder temperatures in recent weeks, the market has since gradually recovered.

“Prices have now recovered more than 70 per cent of the losses incurred since the start of the year, and there is still potential for further upside in our view,” said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.—AFP