World oil prices rose on Tuesday after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he wanted the OPEC cartel to cut another million barrels of daily production.
European benchmark Brent Blend crude oil jumped 36 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $21.41 per barrel by 1315 GMT, while U.S. light crude oil futures gained 10 cents to $22.36.
Brokers said the South American leader's comments did not have more of an impact because of serious concerns about the depth of the demand shock following last month's attacks on the United States.
Also, continuing doubts over OPEC's compliance with existing cuts and concerns about rising supply from exporters outside the cartel ate away at market sentiment.
``The market is really driven by psychology more than economic indicators at the moment,'' said Peter Gignoux of Schroder Salomon Smith Barney.
``It really isn't listening to OPEC,'' he added.
Chavez said he wanted a cut of at least one million barrels per day (bpd) in OPEC's 23.2 million bpd output ceiling, but only if other producers such as Russia, Mexico and Norway helped by freezing their production.
``We have to cut a million barrels per day at least because demand has fallen dramatically,'' Chavez said in London on a tour that has included Russia and OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran.
``But we will only do this if non-OPEC countries commit to maintain production steady at the very least,'' he added.
Brent prices have dropped by 26 percent since last month's attacks on the United States, which hit a market already suffering from the global economic slowdown.
OPEC has identified Russia, the world's No.2 oil exporter, as key to its efforts to manage world oil supply because production is thriving after two years of relatively high prices.
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on Monday Russia would coordinate oil policy and sales with OPEC, but there was no question of cutting production.
OPEC's export basket price fell to a two-year low of $18.54 a barrel last Thursday. It stood at $19.26 on Monday, its 21st straight day under OPEC's $22-$28 per barrel target range.
Adam Sieminski, global energy strategist at Deutsche Bank Alex Brown, said he thought OPEC would end up accepting a lower price target while the global economy slows.
``The cartel has bought time to get more visibility on demand and stocks... and to negotiate with the non-OPEC states on quotas,'' he said in a daily report.
There were still risks that Iraqi production could be interrupted as part of the U.S. ``war on terror,'' he added.
``A successful cut across this winter, ideally in November, should create an $18-$22 oil price range, and satisfy both OPEC and its struggling customers,'' he said.
The cartel will hold an extraordinary ministerial meeting on November 14 in Vienna, where it is expected to announce its next cut.
OPEC has already lopped some 3.5 million bpd off its official production quotas this year, although compliance has worsened with every cut.
Neftegaz.ru
