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Oil prices pull back from highs | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
Oil prices have pulled back from record highs after a minister for producers' cartel Opec said the group may now consider boosting output. | |
Following the comments by Nigeria's oil minister Odein Ajumogobia, US light crude fell 27 cents to $87.34, while Brent pulled back 51 cents to $83.04. | |
Earlier on Wednesday, US light had touched as high as $89, while Brent crude had hit $83.80. | |
Oil prices had risen due to tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels. | |
Mr Ajumogobia said Opec leaders could now meet as early as 17 November, three weeks ahead of their next planned meeting. | |
"We are still a month away and it depends what transpires before then," he added. | |
A report showing higher than expected US crude reserves also helped take the heat off oil prices. | |
Turkish deaths | |
The Turkish parliament has now authorised the use of force against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, a move which could threaten oil supplies from the region. | |
Turkey's movement towards a military incursion into northern Iraq follows after 13 Turkish soldiers were killed earlier this month close to the Iraqi border. | |
Ankara estimates that 3,500 Kurdistan Workers' Party (KWP) rebels - who want to see the establishment of an independent Kurdish homeland - are based across the border in Iraq. | Ankara estimates that 3,500 Kurdistan Workers' Party (KWP) rebels - who want to see the establishment of an independent Kurdish homeland - are based across the border in Iraq. |
The market has not been as worried over a geopolitical issue since last July, when Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas battled in Lebanon, said Steve Rowles, an analyst with CFC Seymour in Hong Kong. | |
He predicted that "overall the tensions will eventually subside", saying that Iraq "isn't the oil producer that it once was". | |
Oil prices have quadrupled since 2002 because of strong demand from fast-growing economies such as China and India, allied to instability in oil-producing nations in the Middle East and Africa. | Oil prices have quadrupled since 2002 because of strong demand from fast-growing economies such as China and India, allied to instability in oil-producing nations in the Middle East and Africa. |
The cost of oil is still below the inflation-adjusted level of about $90 a barrel seen in 1980, when spiralling prices helped contribute to a recession in the US. | |
Last month, Opec said that it would be boosting its production by 500,000 barrels per day from the beginning of next month, to cope with resilient global demand for oil. | |