Oil Ends Up But Monthly ...

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Oil rose almost 3 per cent on Friday on a late short-covering rally after slumping demand pushed crude to the biggest monthly drop ever in October. US crude settled up $1.85, 2.8 per cent, at $67.81 a barrel, but ended the month down more than 32 per cent -- the steepest monthly decline to date -- as demand continues to slow in the United States and other big consumer nations. London Brent crude settled up $1.61 at $65.32. &quot;(Oil is) getting dragged up by the equity markets and possibly by some short covering,&quot; said Rob Kurzatkowski, futures analyst with optionsXpress in Chicago. &quot;With OPEC making stronger comments this week about possible tightening production, even more traders might be wary of going home with short positions for the weekend.&quot; US stocks rose more than 2 per cent as financial shares gained on optimism about further signs of thawing in credit markets, but the Dow remained on track to log its worst month in a decade. In three months, oil has wiped out gains that took more than a year to build, down more than half since they struck a record $147.27 a barrel in July as a raft of poor economic data added pressure from weak demand reports. The US Commerce Department reported that American consumers cut spending for the first time in two years in September, as confidence drained. This coincided with data released on Thursday which showed that US gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 0.3 per cent for the third quarter -- the sharpest economic decline in seven years. A stronger US dollar, which makes dollar-denominated assets less attractive to buyers, sent oil down lower earlier in the day before a late afternoon rally. Oil sharp downturn has spurred OPEC members to call for additional supply reductions after the cartel last week decided to cut output by 1.5 million barrels per day. Further price support came amid signs OPEC members were reducing supplies in line with the agreement. Kuwait on Friday informed customers it was cutting crude supplies by 5 per cent in November. Earlier in the week, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates told customers they would receive less oil, but top exporter Saudi Arabia has yet to inform customers of any fresh curbs. Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Thursday OPEC should cut oil output by another 1 million bpd -- possibly before its next scheduled meeting in December -- and should set a minimum price target of $70 or $80 a barrel. (Reuters)