VOL. XLIV

No 49

3-December-2001

OIL PRICES

Crude Prices Driven By Russia Hopes And Iraq Concerns

Crude oil prices rose and felllast week as strong political currents stirred a market burdened withoversupply. The 23 November announcement by Russia that it would cut output by50,000 b/d in the fourth quarter and would continue to ponder further outputcuts for 2002 acted as a dead weight on prices in the light of OPECs promiseof a 1.5mn b/d production cut beginning 1 January 2002, but only if...