Crude Oil Rises on Expected Decline in U.S. Supplies

The price of crude oil rose for the third time in the last four days, Bloomberg reported, ahead of a report by the Department of Energy Wednesday that traders expect to show declines in U.S. supplies of fuel.

In trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude oil for April delivery rose 26 cents a barrel to $36.32, Bloomberg said.

The price of oil continued its rise during the day Wednesday, after reports by DOE and the American Petroluem Institute showed large declines in oil and fuel inventories (Click here for related coverage.).

The unusually cold winter and increasing tensions in the Middle East have kept the price of crude oil near 27-month highs, Bloomberg said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries tried to reassure the oil markets, as member nation Kuwait’s oil minister, Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Ahmad al-Sabah, said that the cartel would not use oil as a weapon to try and prevent a possible U.S.-led war with Iraq.

Though its oil exports are controlled by the United Nations, Iraq is a member of OPEC.

The group of 11 of the world's largest oil exporters is slated to meet March 11 where it is expected to consider changing its output quotas for the second quarter, Bloomberg said.

The last time OPEC used oil as a weapon was following the 1973 War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Bloomberg reported. Malaysia's Prime Minister told Islamic nations to be careful when considering the use of oil as a weapon. Malaysia is not a member of OPEC.

Al-Sabah told Bloomberg that using oil as a weapon would "complicate" the Iraq situation and could hinder efforts to solve the crisis diplomatically.