Price of Oil Rises Above $40 in New York

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rude oil futures briefly rose above $40 a barrel on Friday in New York for the first time since the Persian Gulf War in 1990, while a senior OPEC official said the oil cartel would hold an informal meeting to discuss what can be done to lower oil prices, Bloomberg reported.

Crude oil for June delivery was up 53 cents, or 1.4%, at $39.90 a barrel at the close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Futures reached $40 a barrel during the session, the highest intraday price since 1990. Prices were up 6.7% this week and 52% from a year earlier.

Oil settled at $39.57 a barrel Wednesday, the highest close since Oct. 12, 1990, when Iraq occupied Kuwait. Prices were up 5.8% this week and 51% from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, some OPEC ministers are scheduled to meet at a gathering of oil-producing and consuming nations in Amsterdam on May 22-24.

Although some nations are calling on OPEC to pump more oil, officials from Iran and Indonesia have said concern of gasoline shortages in the United States and of crude supply disruptions in the Middle East is driving prices higher, not a lack of crude, Bloomberg said.

OPEC ministers hold their next scheduled formal meeting on June 3 in Beirut.