World oil prices remained above $51 a barrel in New York as the president of OPEC hinted at a possible rise in output amid a cold snap in the northern hemisphere.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, fell 22 cents to $51.20 a barrel in early deals. The March contract had surged $2.80 to close at $51.15 a barrel before expiring - the first time it has breached the $50 mark since November - as temperatures fell in the US' northeast and parts of Europe.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in April dropped 22 cents to $48.40 a barrel today.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries could increase oil output if prices rose further, the cartel's president and Kuwaiti Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah said said.
'Yesterday prices went up again. For that reason, we can not support or reject' hiking production, he said. 'If prices continue to increase, there will be a reaction from OPEC to help reduce these prices as it did throughout 2004,' he added. The cartel is due to hold an output meeting on March 16 in Iran.
The market, meanwhile, remained focused on the colder weather, particularly in the US' northeast - a major consumer of heating fuel.
Traders are expected to keep an eye on both heating fuel and gasoline stock levels when the US Department of Energy publishes its weekly snapshot of commercial crude inventories tomorrow.
