Oct 19, 2006, 18:43 GMT
New York/Doha - Oil prices rose late Thursday after Saudi Arabia indicated before a special OPEC meeting in Doha that it would favour lowering OPEC production by a million barrels a day.
The price of West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November rose to 58.45 dollars per barrel (159 litres), 80 cents more than at Wednesday's close. The price of North Sea Brent for December delivery rose by 98 cents to 60.56 dollars.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said on arrival in Doha, Qatar, for the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting late Thursday that the Saudis would back the million-barrel-a-day reduction as an attempt to restore market balance.
Further reductions in production were not being ruled out at the December OPEC meeting, said the minister, whose country is the oil cartel's most powerful member.
Earlier, Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez had said in Doha there was fundamental agreement on the million-barrel-a-day reduction but it had yet to be decided how - whether the official production quota of 28 million barrels a day would be reduced, or actual production.
OPEC was reacting to recent price drops which have gone below 60 dollars a barrel. If OPEC does go ahead with cutting production, it will be the first such move in two years.
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