OPEC to keep production steady

OPEC to keep production steady

OPEC has decided to keep output ceilings steady, Libya's chief oil official said Wednesday. Other delegates said the 13-nation group will meet again in January to review that decision.

The announcement by Shokri Ghanem appeared to reflect OPEC concerns that it would be counterproductive to raise production ceilings at a time when prices have retreated about 10 percent from recent record highs.

There was no immediate formal confirmation. But just hours before Ghanem's comments, a three-nation OPEC advisory panel foreshadowed such a decision by recommending maintaining the status quo.

Reduced demand growth forecasts from both OPEC and the International Energy Agency have pushed prices down recently, along with the extra oil reaching markets from the last OPEC production increase and expectations of increased output from the United Arab Emirates.

A new U.S. intelligence report concluding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 is also helping to keep a lid on the market. While oil prices are still up nearly $40 from the start of the year, they are down about 10 percent from the record near $100-a-barrel levels established last month.

Source: Bloomberg