Crude oil rose for a second day on signs that OPEC is implementing the record production cut announced in December. Prices are “firming up” because of output constraint by the Organization Petroleum Exporting Countries and further cuts may not be necessary, Libya’s top oil official, Shokri Ghanem, said in an interview. A report later today will probably show U.S. crude stockpiles increased by 3 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey. “The combination of OPEC and non-OPEC supply cuts are starting the sentiment that we’re close to peak in stock builds and closer to the bottom in oil prices,” said Olivier Jakob, managing director of Petromatrix Gmbh in Zug, Switzerland. Crude oil for March delivery gained as much as $1.01, or 2.5 percent, to $41.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $41.70 a barrel at 12:47 p.m. London time. Futures are down 6.4 percent this year and 54 percent from a year ago. The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum supply report at 10:30 a.m. today in Washington. OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world’s oil, may not need to reduce output when it meets next month, Libya’s Ghanem said. The group decided on Dec. 17 to trim output by 9 percent. The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum supply report at 10:30 a.m. today in Washington. Crude-oil stockpiles increased by 3 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 30 from 338.9 million the week before, according to the median of 13 analyst estimates before the report. It would be the 17th gain in 19 weeks. All of the analysts said supplies rose. Brent crude oil for March settlement was at $44.57 a barrel, up 49 cents, on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange at 12:41 p.m. London time. The contract gained 26 cents, or 0.6 percent, yesterday to end the session at $44.08 a barrel.

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