OPEC to raise production

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OPEC has said that they will consider raising oil production in May to meet an expected rise in demand in the third quarter. They also implied that $50 a barrel might be a realistic upper limit for crude oil prices because that price level seemed not to damage growth. This news sent crude oil futures lower for the sixth straight day on Monday. Another factor influencing the drop was the cancellation of a strike by oil workers in Nigeria. The union announced that they had reached an agreement with the government and the oil companies over labor issues ahead of an expected Monday strike. Another possible influence was that there was evidence Monday that the rise in energy prices is hurting industry globally. UK producer price inflation data showed that input prices rise 1.8 percent from month to month, more than half of which was put to the rise in the prices of oil products. The fact that output prices had only risen 0.6 percent made it appear that companies were absorbing most of the increase rather than passing it on to the consumer.