Crude oil gains on possible OPEC production cuts

Crude oil prices rose Tuesday after four straight sessions of declines on the possibility that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production after Qatar’s oil minister said his country will cut output and Libya called for a reduction.

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery added $2.46 to $990.27 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a gain of 21.8 percent after declines of 13 percent over the last four sessions, while November contracts for Brent crude gained $1.39 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

WTI was up above $93 per barrel for a time during the session on rumors that Iran had forced the landing of a US military aircraft that had violated its airspace, but US officials denied the report and Iranian media reported that while a plane was forced to land, it belonged to a European aid agency.

In other related news, the US Energy Information Administration reduced its forecast of the average price for a barrel of oil in 2008 from $115.81 per barrel to $112 per barrel.

Nymex November gasoline futures added less than a cent to $2.07 per gallon while November heating oil added 4 cents to $2.51 per gallon.

Meanwhile, at-the-pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.48 per gallon, down by 2.4 cents overnight in the United States.