Crude oil prices down despite concerns

Crude oil prices were down Friday as hopes increased that part of Nigeria’s oil production, interrupted by militant attacks on oil facilities, might soon resume.  The declines came despite worries that OPEC nations Venezuela, Iran, and Indonesia might not be able to meet their quotas to the tune of a 1 percent decline in OPEC’s March output.  In addition Norway, a non-OPEC oil producer, said its output was down by 19 percent year on year in March.  Spare production capacity worldwide is limited and consists mostly of heavy, difficult to refine Saudi Arabian crude.

Brent crude for May delivery lost $1.04 to $66.80 per barrel on Friday on the International Petroleum Exchange, while May contract West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1 to $66.96 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.  During the week, Nymex gasoline prices reached $2 per gallon, but May unleaded dropped 4.7 cents to $1.9530 per gallon on Friday.