OPEC oil price jumps by over 2 dollars

OPECVienna- The price for oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) jumped by 2.18 dollars Thursday, as the cartel's president Chakib Khelil called for a "drastic" cut of oil production at its upcoming meeting.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at 40.12 dollars Thursday, the Vienna-based organization said Friday.

Oil prices were also boosted by the news that Saudi Arabia was producing several hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of crude less than estimated, Vienna-based consultants JBC Energy said.

OPEC oil ministers are scheduled to meet in Oran, Algeria, on December 17 to discuss production levels, as the cartel faces low prices and expectations that global oil demand could shrink in 2008.

Khelil, who is also Algeria's energy minister, told Radio Algerienne Thursday he was convinced that there was a "consensus" among OPEC members that a production cut was necessary. dpa

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