LONDON, Dec 22, 2008 (AFP) - Oil prices were mixed in quiet pre-Christmas trading on Monday, after hitting a 4.5-year low point in New York before the weekend as weak energy demand weighed on the market, dealers said.
Light sweet crude for delivery in February gained 24 cents to 42.60 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
New York's January contract expired Friday after tumbling as low as 32.40 dollars per barrel -- which was the lowest level since February 9, 2004.
The price of Brent North Sea crude for February eased 10 cents to 43.90 dollars per barrel on London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE).
"The price of black gold continues to slip overall," said Capital Spreads managing director Simon Denham on Monday.
Crude futures have collapsed in value since striking record high points above 147 dollars per barrel in July, as a looming global recession has slashed the world's demand for energy.
Investors had raced to sell before New York's January contract before it expired on Friday, according to analysts.
Oil stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma, where New York oil is stored, are at maximum capacity. Incapable of parking more oil there at the end of Friday's session, investors were forced to sell off, they added.
"Part of the reason why (New York crude) is trading at such a discount to Brent is down to the increase in crude oil stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma," said analysts at the John Hall Associates energy consultancy.
"Cushing is a key transit hub for the US oil industry and latest information from the US government revealed that stocks here jumped close to 5.0 million barrels in the week-ending 12th December -- the single, largest weekly move since records for this hub began in 2004.
"As such, stocks here are now at their highest level since May 2007."
In response to last week's price falls, OPEC president Chakib Khelil said Friday that the cartel would keep reducing output.
"We will continue this reduction until the price will stabilise," Khelil told reporters in London after the 13-member group approved the biggest production cut in its history.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which produces about 40 percent of the world's crude, agreed Wednesday to cut output by 2.2 million barrels per day in a bid to shore up prices.
Despite the move, prices dived last week. Prices have fallen heavily in recent months from record highs above 147 dollars because of concerns about weakening demand in a slowing global economy.
Khelil, who is Algeria's energy minister, said prices could have gone even lower if OPEC had not made output cuts in September and October.
But many traders have questioned whether all members of the OPEC cartel would fully enforce the reduction.
