LONDON (SHARECAST) - Crude prices continued to surge forward on Thursday, for the third successive sessions, due to talk of supply restriction.
The crude gains have weighed on gold again, reducing the precious metal's investment appeal. The strong dollar also pushed gold down, which fell $23.60 to $942.60 an ounce.
Abu Dhabi National Oil, which is the main oil supplier the UAE, said it will be curbing crude supplies to Asia.
There are also expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will further cut production quotas when they next meet in the middle of March.
The news pushed crude oil for April delivery to $45.22 a a barrel, an increase of $2.72.
Despite the recent gains, many analysts predict that oil prices will not climb to much further as the global economy is still struggling.