OPEC decides not to cut production levels…

Oil prices rebounded from an early retreat Monday, as traders brushed aside OPEC supply-side issues and focused on higher stock prices.
Benchmark crude for April delivery gained $1.10 to settle at $47.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell as low as $43.62 overnight after OPEC decided to forgo further production cuts in favor of boosting compliance with existing ones.
Oil climbed into positive territory by midday Monday on the coattails of the Dow Jones industrial, which gained about 100 points. The S&P 500 index also gained ground.
OPEC’s willingness to hold the line on supply is forcing traders to shift their focus to the demand side, and, at least for a day, means the signs are good.
This economy still has a chance to recover during the second half of this year, and if that happens oil demand should improve. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Sunday they will try to stick more closely to the group’s current output quotas but will not make further cuts.
Oil prices rose from less than $35 a barrel last month as investors anticipated the cartel would cut production by up to 1 million barrels a day on top of 4.2 million barrels of reductions announced since September.
While some of the oil producers at Sunday’s meeting said they supported another cut, Saudi Arabia argued instead for stricter compliance with the existing output reductions. OPEC is overshooting its daily target level of just under 25 million barrels a day by about 800,000 barrels.
A new cut remains an option during a May 28 OPEC special session to review prices and supply.
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said Monday that petroleum-producing countries need a price of at least $60 a barrel to bring more energy resources on the market.
Analysts noted the presence of Russian Deputy Premier Igor Sechin at the Vienna meeting.
Russia has toyed with the idea of working more closely with OPEC to control the flow of oil to the world and Sechin on Sunday announced that his country is reducing crude sales.
Oil traders will likely turn their attention to global crude demand and the possibility of a second-half economic recovery.