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============================================================================================== Crude Oil Rises a Second Day After Turkish Attacks in Iraq By Gavin Evans Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for a second day in New York as Turkey continued its military assault against rebel bases in northern Iraq, OPEC's sixth-largest oil producer. Attacks in Kurdish Iraq since Feb. 21 have killed 112 militants and cost the lives of 15 soldiers, the Turkish military said yesterday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will either keep production unchanged or cut it next month, given rising inventories and an expected drop in demand, president Chakib Khelil said yesterday. ``I'm not terribly concerned about the geopolitical concerns there'' in northern Iraq, said Rowan Menzies, head of research at Commodity Warrants Australia Ltd. ``You can get a kind of knee- jerk reaction to these things but I don't really think that's going to be a major influence over the next two or three weeks.'' Crude oil for April delivery rose as much as 88 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $99.69 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $99.51 at 8:02 a.m. in Singapore. The contract gained 58 cents to $98.81 on Feb. 22 after the Turkish incursion. Prices fell 2.5 percent the day before after a report showed oil stockpiles in the U.S., the world's largest consumer, rose for a sixth week as winter heating demand eased and refiners shut plants for pre-summer maintenance. Brent crude for April settlement increased 64 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $97.65 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract gained 0.8 percent, to $97.01 on Feb. 22. New York oil futures have gained 11 percent the past month, reaching a record $101.32 on Feb. 20, as signs of slowing demand in the U.S. prompted investors to buy commodities betting they will benefit from rising Asian demand. OPEC Review OPEC produces about 40 percent of the world's oil and meets March 5 to review the group's production levels. The group is forecasting a drop in daily demand of close to 1.6 million barrels in the second quarter as global growth slows and heating demand in the northern hemisphere eases. ``If OPEC did cut output that would change everything, but I just don't OPEC cutting output,'' Commodity Warrants' Menzies said. ``The global economy just looks a little too fragile to be cutting output.'' The recent surge in oil prices is because of ``speculation and geopolitical problems'' and the expectation that OPEC will cut production, Khelil told reporters in Algeria yesterday. The group will either maintain current output or reduce it, he said. Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators raised their bets on higher oil prices for a second time last week, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Net-long positions, the difference between orders to buy and sell the commodity, rose 52 percent to 60,873 contracts, the highest in a month. To contact the reporter on this story: Gavin Evans in Wellington at
