Oil prices rebound as Opec meets

Oil reached a record high of $98.62 a barrel earlier this month

Oil prices rose back above $95 a barrel on Friday on expectations that an Opec summit would not debate raising output.

The jump came after a day of losses caused by a surprise build in US crude stocks and forecast of lower demand.

US light, sweet crude gained $1.67 to $95.10 a barrel. London Brent crude was up $1.39 cents at $91.62 a barrel.

The Opec members' leaders are holding a summit in Riyadh this weekend, but the group argues that current supplies of oil are adequate.

Opec said on Thursday that oil demand in the last quarter of 2007 would rise by 1.97%, less than predicted in October.

On Friday, Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters there was no need to raise output levels at the group's policy meeting in December.

"No, there is enough oil in the market," he said in the Saudi capital.

Reports that Opec ministers were planning to release a statement rejecting US requests to increase production also pushed up prices, analysts said.

Opec blunder

The summit was marked by the accidental airing of a closed Opec session, which provided a surprise glimpse into a sensitive debate over the weakening US dollar.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister warned that even talking publicly about the currency's decline could further hurt its value.

While Iran attempted to convince other member countries to express concern over dollar depreciation in the meeting's final declaration.

Oil is priced in dollars on the world market, and its depreciation has concerned oil producers because it has contributed to rising crude prices and has eroded the value of their dollar reserves.

A record high of $98.62 a barrel - unadjusted for inflation - was reached earlier this month on the back of a weak dollar, geopolitical tensions and concerns about tight supplies.