February 29, 2008	Friday	Safar 21, 1429

LONDON, Feb 28: Oil prices shot higher again on Thursday to test record highs on the back of continued strong demand and further troubles for the dollar, which plumbed historic lows against the euro.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, jumped $1.71 to $101.35 per barrel after an intra-day peak of $101.90.

The contract hit a record $102.08 on Wednesday.

Brent North Sea crude for April was up $1.47 to $99.74.

Runaway price levels have meanwhile sparked widespread speculation that the Opec crude exporters’ cartel will maintain current output levels at a keenly-awaited production meeting next week, analysts said.

Ministers from the 13-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries convene in Vienna on Tuesday to decide on output quotas as the northern hemisphere winter, traditionally when demand peaks, comes to a close.

A top official from Opec member Nigeria said on Wednesday that the cartel was unlikely to cut output if prices remain around record levels.

“If prices don’t fall, I don’t think that they will lower their production now,” an oil advisor to the Nigerian president, Rilwanu Lukman, told AFP.

“If prices remain between 90 and 100 dollars, I think it is unlikely that they do something,” he said.

Concern that OPEC could reduce output has been one of the factors driving prices above 100 dollars this week, analysts said.

Many oil industry experts now expect that OPEC will hold its official daily output at 29.67 million oil barrels.—AFP