Crude Oil Rises a Second Day on Planned OPEC Cut, U.S. Stimulus

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose a second day in New York on speculation OPEC production cuts and economic stimulus plans will slow rising global stockpiles.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is “determined” to stabilize oil markets, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said in Doha, Qatar, yesterday. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is broadening a package of measures to create 3 million jobs in the U.S., the world’s largest economy, during the next two years, an aide said Dec. 20.

Crude oil for February delivery rose as much as 72 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $43.08 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $42.94 at 10:07 a.m. in Sydney.

The contract rose 69 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $42.36 on Dec. 19, its first gain in six days, and lost 14 percent last week. Oil, metal and equity prices rose that day after the U.S. agreed to extend $13.4 billion in emergency loans to keep General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC operating amid a slump in global demand.

Brent crude oil for February settlement was untraded on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange today. It rose 1.5 percent to $44 on Dec. 19.

New York oil futures have fallen 71 percent from the record $147.27 a barrel reached on July 11. The January contract, which expired last week, plunged 6.5 percent to $33.87 a barrel on Dec. 19, the lowest settlement since Feb. 10, 2004. It dropped 27 percent last week as stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, jumped to a 19-month high and investors quit the contract before the holiday break.

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators last week increased their bets on rising oil prices to the most in seven months, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.

Net-long positions, the difference between orders to buy and sell the commodity, increased more than fivefold to 64,120 contracts on Dec. 16, the commission said last week.