Crude Oil Prices Edge Down on Profit-Taking

Crude oil prices edge down on profit-taking

NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — Crude oil prices edged down on profit-taking Monday as Saudi Arabia promised to produce more oil.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, settled at 68.10 dollars, down 38 cents, after it hit an intra-day peak of 69.20 dollars — the highest level since Sept. 1, 2005.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for March delivery dropped 27 cents to 66.16 dollars per barrel in electronic deals after a peak of 67.11 dollars.

World oil price closed with a four-month high Friday on concerns of rising demand and Iran’s nuclear tensions.

Saudi Arabia said it was ready to produce more oil, if needed, and that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was likely to keep output steady when it meets on Jan. 31 in Vienna.

“Fundamentals today are in excellent shape and inventories are at reasonable levels, supply plentiful, demand is well met by supply,” Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, told an Indian television news channel Monday. “There is no reason why prices should be rising other than these tensions.”