Crude oil prices rise for fourth successive day

23 January 2009

Crude oil prices increased for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday as Opec supply cuts continued to have an impact on the market.

The cartel has reduced output by 4.2 million barrels a day since September and prices have rallied this week as a result.

US light crude for March delivery closed at $44 (£32.10) a barrel, up 45 cents on the previous day, while London Brent crude rose to $45.30.

This follows a rise of almost seven per cent on Wednesday as prices began to recover from the recent slump.

However, some analysts are unsure whether the current supply cuts will be sufficient to continue the upward trend.

"They have to cut four to five million barrels a day in quotas; they have to get a good portion of that in real, wet barrels off the market," said Adam Sieminski, chief energy economist for Deutsche Bank.

Despite this, some UK residents could look to purchase their heating oil in the coming days to avoid having to pay out more for their fuel in the future.

According to a poll by Reuters, analysts expect London Brent crude oil prices to average around $55.01 in 2009.

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