World’s biggest suppliers ready to pump more crude next year

OPEC is breaching its production limits the most in six years, signaling the world's biggest suppliers are ready to pump more crude next year as oil rallies toward $100 a barrel.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries excluding Iraq pumped 26.78 million barrels a day this year, exceeding the quotas by an average of 1.934 million a day, the highest level since 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Crude rose 12 percent in 2010 as demand recovered, trading at about $90 for the first time in two years. Options to buy at $100 next December are near a five-month high, according to Bloomberg.

"The ministers generally love existing prices," Cameron Hanover said in a report. "Some insiders have hinted at a quota increase if crude oil prices break above $100 a barrel."

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 1.6 cents to $2.47 a gallon, gasoline futures added 2.5 cents to $2.33 a gallon and natural gas jumped 5.9 cents to $4.48 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose 70 cents to $91.18 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, according to The Associated Press.