Oil Prices Rise Again In Asia

Oil prices rose again in Asia on Wednesday as the world's biggest oil producers and consumers prepared to meet to discuss record crude prices which have sparked fears for the global economy.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, was 61 cents higher at $131.92 per barrel after slumping $3.04 to close at $131.31 at the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.

The contract rocketed to a record $139.12 on Friday, soaring by $10.75, the largest single-day increase in history.

Brent North Sea crude for July delivery rose 68 cents to $131.70 a barrel after falling $2.89 to $131.02 in London on Tuesday.

The Brent contract struck a historic peak of $138.12 on Friday.

Saudi Arabia's cabinet on Monday asked Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi to convene the meeting of producer and consumer nations and oil firms "to discuss the jump in prices, its causes and how to deal with it objectively".

The meeting will take place on June 22 in the Saudi city of Jeddah, Abdalla El-Badri, secretary general of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), told Agence-France Presse.

The United States, the world's biggest energy consumer, will participate in the meeting, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday.

Oil prices have surged since breaking through the $100 a barrel level at the start of the year, and analysts now see prices hitting $150 soon.

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