NEW YORK, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices ended higher on Thursday amid rising concerns about the sharp decline in crude exports from Venezuela.
The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery added 1.22 U.S. dollars to settle at 65.95 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery increased 1.96 dollars to close at 77.32 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) member state Venezuela, threatened with U.S. sanctions in the midst of an economic crisis, is nearly a month behind delivering crude to customers from its main export terminals, according to Reuters.
Oil prices also supported news that OPEC members may not agree to increase oil output in the upcoming meeting later this month.
Algeria's oil minister said on Thursday that OPEC would focus on balancing the market rather than on rolling back production caps. OPEC-member Iraq also said on Wednesday that a production increase was not on the table. Enditem
