Crude prices were changed

NEW YORK — Crude oil prices rose Monday after a Commerce Department official said US economic growth in the fourth quarter might had been underestimated.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures for March delivery rose 1.02 dollars to end at 48.20 dollars a barrel. In London, the March Brent crude-oil futures contract gained 97 cents to settle at 45.92 dollars per barrel.

On Monday, an official from the Commerce Department said that US fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) might be revised higher as much 0.5 percentage points. The Commerce Department said three days ago that US economy cooled to a 3.1 percent annual rate last quarter. < !—more-->

“Strong economic growth will result in rising fuel consumption,” said an American analyst said. “A higher US growth will further boost demand.”

OPEC’s decision to leave production output unchanged and the passing of the Iraqi elections without major incident combined to push crude oil futures sharply lower Monday.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 88 cents to US$46.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. February heating oil was down 2.75 cents to US$1.3105 per gallon.

In London, Brent for March delivery fell 96 cents to US$43.99 on the International Petroleum Exchange.

Concerns about the OPEC meeting on Sunday and fears that rebels in Iraq could derail the vote on the same day had unnerved traders for weeks.

“The reality of supply and demand fundamentals seem to be sinking in,” said Shum, who expects prices to remain at the mid-US$40 level in the short-term.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries kept production steady at its meeting over the weekend, but left the door open to shaving production later to contain a seasonal second-quarter stock build.

The group next meets on March 16. “There is a threat out there that Opec might cut back quotas before their March meeting and that is keeping the market nervous,” said Marshall Steeves, analyst at Refco Group in New York.

The Middle East Economic Survey said on Monday that if Opec decided it needs to reduce oil production before its March meeting, the group would make a substantial cut that could take effect as soon as March 1.