Oil prices rose today as the United Arab Emirates, an OPEC member, described current price levels as 'very reasonable'.
Crude futures had fallen earlier amid doubts over the strength of economic recovery in the US, the world's biggest energy consumer, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery jumped 42 cents to $78.42 a barrel this afternoon. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March rose 24 cents to $77.35 a barrel in London.
United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Mohammad bin Dhaen al-Hamli today said that world oil prices are 'very reasonable'. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a four-day alternative energy forum being held in the UAE capital. The UAE is a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
At its last meeting in December, the OPEC oil producers' cartel warned of lingering weakness in the world economy as it decided to hold its crude output quotas unchanged.
Oil prices jumped by around 80% in 2009 as traders were heartened by evidence that the battered global economy was on the mend, with the euro zone, Japan and the US escaping a fierce recession.
However, crude futures have struggled to make much headway in early 2010 as economic data disappoints. Figures released last Friday showed US consumer prices barely rose in December and were interpreted by economists as a sign of lingering weakness in the economy, where consumer spending is a major driver of economic activity.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency also said on Friday that oil demand in 2010 would be 'sluggish' in the developed world, with emerging markets accounting for any increases. The agency left unchanged a prior forecast of a 1.7% rise in global demand this year to 86.3 million barrels a day.
