US oil prices were steady yesterday, ahead of the first big snowstorm this year in the country’s north-east, while benchmark Brent crude fell after pledges of no policy change by the top oil exporter Saudi Arabia after King Abdullah’s death.

Saudi Arabia’s new king is expected to continue a policy of keeping oil output steady to drive out rival producers, though the royal succession has focused market attention on the future of the kingdom’s long-serving oil minister.

Oil producers outside of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) should cut “irresponsible” output with excess supplies harming the market, said the United Arab Emirates energy minister.

Brent has advanced on speculation that the drop in prices below $80 a barrel for the first time in four years increases the likelihood that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will curb output.

The price of petrol is set to fall in the next two weeks despite a warning from the IMF that oil could double in price over the next decade.

Crude oil prices should fall because global supply is outweighing demand, according to Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi.

IRAN warned Gulf Arab oil producers against boosting production to offset any potential drop in Tehran’s crude exports in the event of an embargo affecting oil sales, the latest salvo in the dispute between the West and the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.

Oil producers today decided to leave production targets unchanged as the price of crude remained at six-month highs.

Oil prices eased below $60 (€43) a barrel today as investors awaited the latest meeting of the Opec oil-producing cartel later this week.

SAUDI ARABIA is willing to produce more oil if customers need it, the kingdom’s oil minister said yesterday, without citing any specific output increase.

Saudi Arabia is willing to produce more oil if customers need it, the kingdom’s oil minister said today, without citing any specific output increase.

Saudi Arabia plans to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels a day next month, the kingdom's oil minister told United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.

OIL rose above $63 yesterday on concerns that export cartel OPEC would cut output to halt a 20% slide in prices over the past two months.

TOP oil exporter Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC producers signalled on Saturday that they would keep oil output near its current 25-year high for now, satisfied the policy is easing pressure on consumer economies.

Global oil cartel Opec looked set to leave production unchanged today as it juggled tensions in Iran and Nigeria.

SAUDI Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, joined other members from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in saying the group should maintain current production to meet demand during the Northern Hemisphere winter.

THE dollar rallied further against the euro yesterday despite poor data from the US in recent days.

PETROL prices are set to increase in the run up to the summer despite a slight easing in crude prices yesterday on the world markets.

OPEC’s top producer Saudi Arabia yesterday questioned the need for the cartel to bolster oil prices by cutting supply, saying the kingdom would keep crude output at current high levels as long as customers wanted it.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said OPEC’s decision to implement an output quota cut won’t leave oil markets undersupplied and boost prices, even as demand rises in Asian consumers including China and Japan.

OPEC, producer of a third of the world’s oil, agreed to maintain its production limits and meet again to consider cutbacks to prevent a drop in prices, the group’s secretary-general said.

WORLD oil prices have been climbing steadily raising concerns about its impact on the global economy in what is still an uncertain outlook for 2003.

OPEC power Saudi Arabia was tight-lipped yesterday on cartel output strategy amid a chorus of opposition to any relaxation in tough output curbs.