White House officials Monday welcomed Saudi Arabia's pledge to boost oil production, but prices rose despite the Saudi action.
The cost of a barrel of oil for future delivery went up about $2 and rose as high as $137.50 a barrel in New York trading.
Oil
traders apparently calculated that increased Saudi production could be
offset by political unrest and labor problems in Nigeria's oil
industry.
Oil prices have doubled in the past year and are a
key political issue in the U.S. presidential race. Republican
Candidate John McCain is scheduled to announce several ideas to ease
the energy crisis in a speech later Monday. Those proposals include
offering a $300 million prize to encourage scientists to create a more
practical battery that could power electric cars and reduce the need
for oil.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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