Oil prices rise after OPEC assurances

By Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: Global oil prices continued their advance on Tuesday, following a statement from OPEC Secretary General as regards controlling prices in the coming months.

OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badri said global crude oil prices at seven-year lows would not continue and could swing upwards in as little as a year.

"I've been in the oil business all my life. I saw six cycles - I saw very high price, I saw low price, and this is one of them. This will not continue," Badri said at the first OPEC-India Energy dialogue in New Delhi.

Brent rose by about $0.53 to $38.45 per barrel. U.S. crude rose by $1.04 to $37.53 per barrel.

Meanwhile, OPEC President and Nigeria’s Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said the cartel would hold urgent talks, if crude prices don’t recover by February.

The rise in oil prices was triggered by speculations and buying activities aimed for shifting between positions, said oil analyst Ahmed Hassan Karam.

He added that the impact of U.S. inventories data and the final decision on the Fed interest rate would be seen in the market trend over the coming sessions.

The U.S. Federal Reserve began Tuesday meetings for its monetary policy committee to look into raising interest rates. The meetings will be finalised today.

MUBASHER Contribution Time: 16-Dec-2015 05:10 (GMT)