Crude oil prices gain over $2 in New York, London

The price of crude oil was higher Monday as the US dollar weakened and equities markets saw gains, and after comments from officials of member nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said that production quotas will probably remain steady.

December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added $2.55 to $78.90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while December Brent crude was up $2.45 to $78.76 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Remarks from both the energy minister of Qatar and the Angolan oil minister pointed toward no change in production quotas when OPEC meets in Angola next month, even as the cartel said that compliance with current quotas dropped to 60 percent in October.

Nymex December gasoline and January heating oil each added 7 cents, to $1.99 per gallon and $2.07 per gallon respectively, while January natural gas was 19 cents higher to $4.99 per million British thermal units.

The retail price of gasoline fell 0.4 cent overnight to $2.631 per gallon, according to AAA, 6 cents lower than at the end of October but almost 52 cents higher than last year at this time.