Saudi Arabian violence changed oil prices

Oil prices were forced higher today by an outbreak of violence in &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/society/2002/05/16/28805.html ' target=_blank>Saudi Arabia and concerns that Opec may cut output.

The cost of a barrel of light, sweet crude oil climbed to 43.31 US dollars after gunmen stormed the US consulate in Jeddah and took several staff hostage.

The news diverted the attention of traders from a meeting of oil cartel &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/comp/2002/09/24/37132.html ' target=_blank>OPEC in Cairo on Friday, which will set output quotas for the first quarter of next year, informs the Scotsman.

The price of New York-traded light sweet crude for delivery in January was 63 cents higher at 43.17 dollars at about 1700 GMT.

In London the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for January delivery gained 52 cents to 39.88 dollars a barrel.

"Obviously OPEC producing so much oil has acted as a good dampener in the market, at least in the last week," said Veronica Smart, an analyst at the Energy Information Centre, a British-based consultancy firm.

"So the news that they might actually slow down production might have slightly upset the market," she added, wrote the Turkish Press.

Kuwait called on fellow OPEC members on Saturday to stop exceeding their production quotas in light of the price falls.