Light oil futures back over $81, OPEC says oil price stable

23 March 2010 23 March 2010

BonTrade

Light oil futures are trading back above the $81 mark on Tuesday as energy traders meanwhile followed events Monday in Geneva, where leading OPEC ministers warned against financial speculation on oil markets. US Light crude oil futures climbed 57 cents to $81.25 a barrel on the NYMEX.

The president of OPEC and ministers from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said that they were striving for stable and optimum oil prices in the wake of the volatility triggered by the global financial crisis.

OPEC president and Ecuadoran Resources Minister Germanico Pinto told a United Nations conference in Geneva that although the oil market had moved to a “more realistic and stable oil price,” pressures for “extreme volatility” remained.

“Increased speculative activity has led to acute and excessive price fluctuations and the market has been driven by factors totally unrelated to supply and demand,” Pinto said. “It is essential that the price is justified by market fundamentals,” he added.