NYMEX crude ends up as oil trio to meet pre-OPEC

Reuters, 06.05.03, 3:38 PM ET NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - NYMEX crude futures ended higher on Thursday, pushing upward in late trading on news that oil ministers from OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Venezuela will meet their counterpart from nonaligned Mexico on Friday in Madrid, traders said. "It was the story on the oil ministers meeting in Madrid," said a New York trader. "They aren't meeting to ask the Mexicans to pump more oil, so the question will be if they get Mexico to agree to cut." NYMEX July crude settled 69 cents higher at $30.74 a barrel, trading from $29.65 to $30.80. The contract was briefly at $31.00 on Wednesday, leaving the April 21 $31.25 high trade as the next level to approach. In London, IPE benchmark Brent July crude settled 63 cents higher at $27.44 a barrel, just below the $29.47 session high. The meeting in Madrid between Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and counterparts, Venezuela's Rafael Ramirez and Mexico's Ernesto Martens, will come just days before next week's OPEC meeting in Qatar to decide third-quarter cartel production and market share policy [nL05274438]. Crude bounced early in the session when technical support levels held in the face of early follow-through selling from Wednesday's price dip, traders said. "We saw some funds buying helping push back up," said a New York broker. In addition to seeking cooperation from Mexico, as well as rival producers Norway and Russia, OPEC must also discuss how to accommodate returning Iraqi production. Iraq on Thursday tendered to sell its first crude since the war and said it aimed to enter term supply deals this month [nL05200743]. But oil traders are still skeptical as to how fast the Iraqi oil industry can rebound and what state its oil infrastructure was in after the anarchic looting in the chaos that followed the war. Analysts have said that while recent high prices may cause OPEC to stall any further production cuts, the cartel will only be postponing future cuts [nL04178763]. The price of OPEC's basket of seven crudes fell to $26.72 Wednesday, still at the upper end of its $22-$28 target range. U.S. gasoline supplies are five percent below 2002 levels as the peak demand driving season begins, but Wednesday's data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed a rise in supplies as refiners upped crude runs. EIA said gasoline stocks jumped 2.3 million barrels while crude stocks rose 2.8 million barrels [EIA/S]. Amerada Hess (nyse: AHC - news - people) denied talk of refinery problems at its huge refinery on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. NYMEX July gasoline settled 2.09 cents higher at 88.52 cents a gallon, off a high at 88.80 cents. NYMEX July heating oil settled 2.01 cents higher at 77.23 cents a gallon, bouncing off a session low of 75.00 cents.