Oil prices scaled fresh highs this morning, forcing OPEC to consider a second output increase just a day after its deal to raise supplies failed to halt crude's record-breaking advance.
US light crude broke above $57 for the first time, gaining 79 cents to $57.25 a barrel, having earlier hit a record $57.50. London's Brent crude added $1.27 cents to a record $56.15 a barrel.
OPEC president Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said the exporters group might begin talks as early as next week over a second output rise if prices did not ease.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Wednesday to raise output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) with immediate effect. The agreement allows the addition of a further 500,000 bpd if prices do not fall below $55 for US crude. Sheikh Ahmad said any additional barrels could reach the market as early as April.
'If prices continue as they are now, then starting from next week we will start our discussions,' he told reporters in Isfahan, Iran where OPEC held its Wednesday meeting.
Strong demand for oil, led by China and other emerging Asian economies, is straining OPEC's spare production capacity.
