Hints of a Shift at OPEC About a Rise in Oil Output

As prices jumped to another record, a member of OPEC signaled on Friday for the first time in months that the oil cartel might increase its output to prick the price bubble.

The comments, from Libya


But in recent weeks, prices have come under renewed pressure because of a string of export disruptions from Nigeria. Prices have been above $100 since early February. Crude oil for June delivery closed up $2.27, at $125.96 a barrel in New York on Friday, after rising as high as $126.25 during the day.

Since OPEC last increased oil supplies in September, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have argued that the higher prices had more to do with investment flows than with supply and demand.

The problem for OPEC is that prices have, at times, run counter to real market factors, analyst said. As the dollar continues to decline and the United States economy slows, investment funds have moved into commodities like oil or gold, which they consider safer and more profitable than stocks.

But the political cost of rising energy prices, especially in the United States, which is in the midst of a presidential election, is making OPEC