<p>World oil prices may struggle to sustain a push beyond $50 a barrel after hitting the key level for the first time this year, analysts warned.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Crude futures topped $50 a barrel on Thursday, as production disruptions in Canada contribute to a drop in US crude inventories. Prices have won support also from unrest in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer.<br /><br />Prices slipped back on Friday however, as analysts warned that the week’s move above $50 could trigger some North American producers of crude extracted from shale rock to lift output.<br /><br />Slumping prices, resulting in crude trading at under $30 a barrel in February from above $100 two years ago, made it unprofitable for some shale companies to compete with traditional producers like Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.<br /><br />Futures had plunged over a 21-month period owing largely to a global supply glut, fed by rising production of shale oil.<br /><br />Oil at $50 is meanwhile viewed as a level at which it makes economic sense for certain suppliers to start pumping again, CMC Markets trader Alex Wijaya said. “Crude oil prices have failed to hold above the $50 level due to concerns that higher prices could unlock more supply,” he said.<br /><br />Traders are now eyeing next week’s meeting of the OPEC in Vienna to discuss world production levels. “There is probably a sliver of hope that OPEC producers will hammer out an agreement to support oil prices, be it to freeze production or otherwise,” said IG Asia analyst Bernard Aw.<br /><br />OPEC member Iran, which returned to world markets in January after the lifting of Western sanctions linked to its nuclear programme, has so far refused to curb production.<br /></p>
<p>World oil prices may struggle to sustain a push beyond $50 a barrel after hitting the key level for the first time this year, analysts warned.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Crude futures topped $50 a barrel on Thursday, as production disruptions in Canada contribute to a drop in US crude inventories. Prices have won support also from unrest in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer.<br /><br />Prices slipped back on Friday however, as analysts warned that the week’s move above $50 could trigger some North American producers of crude extracted from shale rock to lift output.<br /><br />Slumping prices, resulting in crude trading at under $30 a barrel in February from above $100 two years ago, made it unprofitable for some shale companies to compete with traditional producers like Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.<br /><br />Futures had plunged over a 21-month period owing largely to a global supply glut, fed by rising production of shale oil.<br /><br />Oil at $50 is meanwhile viewed as a level at which it makes economic sense for certain suppliers to start pumping again, CMC Markets trader Alex Wijaya said. “Crude oil prices have failed to hold above the $50 level due to concerns that higher prices could unlock more supply,” he said.<br /><br />Traders are now eyeing next week’s meeting of the OPEC in Vienna to discuss world production levels. “There is probably a sliver of hope that OPEC producers will hammer out an agreement to support oil prices, be it to freeze production or otherwise,” said IG Asia analyst Bernard Aw.<br /><br />OPEC member Iran, which returned to world markets in January after the lifting of Western sanctions linked to its nuclear programme, has so far refused to curb production.<br /></p>