Crude Oil Prices Rise After Three Days of Declines

Crude oil prices rise after three days of declines

NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) — Crude oil futures rose more than 2 dollars a barrel Friday after three days of declines as traders feared the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could wait to raise its production target.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude oil futures for August delivery climbed 2.25 dollars to end at 58.75 dollars, while the August Brent crude oil futures rose 1.96 dollars to settle at 57.54 dollars per barrel on London’s International Petroleum Exchange.

Friday’s rise in oil prices came after OPEC suspended talks on a possible increase of its official production target. The sharp decline in prices seen this week prompted OPEC to halt those talks. But the group promised to raise its official production quota if oil prices return to 60 dollars a barrel.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg survey showed more analysts and strategists expected a decline in oil prices for the next week.