Oil Price Eased After OPEC Statement

Oil prices in New York eased on Thursday, after rising to a six-week high above US$41 a barrel overnight, as OPEC affirmed it would raise a planned increase of oil production without holding a planned meeting next week.
Light crude futures dropped 20 cents to $40.77. News of a fire at an oil pipeline in northern Iraq, where saboteurs have been targeting the country's oil infrastructure, heightened supply worries.
US petrol futures ended higher, however, a move which technical analysts attributed to a continuation of bullish momentum after key resistance levels were breached on Wednesday.
August petrol settled 0.42 US cents a gallon higher at $1.3202. In London, benchmark Brent crude ended 43 cents lower at US$38.11.