Oil prices climb ahead of meetings

Crude oil climbed back up to $81.88 a barrel today, a rise of $2.08, or 2.5%, while in London, Brent crude was up $1.81 to $79.70.

Over the last nine months, oil prices have been hovering between the $70 and $80 mark as global crude demand gradually recovers from the economic downturn but remains weak in developed countries.

However, today, oil prices edge up ahead of a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), scheduled for tomorrow in Vienna, where the cartel is expected to call for stricter compliance with existing oil production quotas rather than to put into place more stringent quotas.

In addition, today Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said he expects OPEC to keep output steady for the remainder of 2010.

Furthermore, US housing data allayed investors fears ahead of the Fed’s meeting on interest rates. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates at the rate of between zero and 0.25%.