(RTTNews) - Oil prices climbed again on Monday as traders showed they expect the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to lower production later this week. Light sweet crude for November delivery moved to $73.52, up $1.67 for the session. Crude touched as high as $74.28 in overnight trading.
With oil more than 50% off its record high, OPEC will hold an extraordinary meeting Friday in Vienna to discuss the deteriorating economic conditions. OPEC is widely expected to cut production by at least a million barrels a day to combat lower prices. The group had originally planned the special meeting for Nov. 18. The next regularly-scheduled OPEC meeting is Dec. 17 in Oran, Algeria.
Oil dropped $5.85 last week and is down more than $35 since November became the front-month contract on Sept. 23. On a longer-term basis, oil has dropped more than $60 from the record $147.27 it reached on July 11.
Crude oil closed below $70 a barrel for the first time in more than a year as a larger-than-expected build in inventories further illustrated the decline in demand amid the credit crisis. Oil hit as low as $68.57 and posted its first sub-$70 close since Aug. 23, 2007.
Traders looked ahead to Wednesday's inventory data from the Energy Information Administration. Last week's data that revealed U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 5.6 million barrels from the previous week, much greater than the expected build of about 3.5 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles increased by 7.0 million barrels last week, above expectations of about 3 million. Distillate fuel inventories fell by 500,000 barrels.
At the pump, prices nationwide continued to decline. A regular unleaded gallon of gasoline cost $2.923, down 3 cents from the day before. This is down sharply from the month-ago average of $3.777 but still ahead of the year-ago pace of $2.824. Gasoline prices soared to a record $4.114 in July.
Traders considered testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in front of the House Budget Committee. Bernanke said the recent drop in oil prices will have favorable implications on the markets. He added that it's still too early to judge the impact of last week's government measures to battle the economic crisis and that credit stability won't quickly help the economy.
