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Iraq, Venezuela push up oil price
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Oil prices continued to strengthen on Friday amid fears that supplies could be jeopardised by the month-long strike in Venezuela and talk of war with Iraq. Brent crude for February delivery, the benchmark futures contract on the International Petroleum Exchange in London, was up 87 cents to $30.30 in late afternoon trading. Prices began rising sharply on Thursday after the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. crude inventories fell more than 3 percent last week to near 26-year lows as the Venezuelan strike -- called by opponents of embattled President Hugo Chavez -- reduced oil production in that country to a trickle. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and supplies the U.S. with about 15 percent of its energy requirements. Fears of war with Iraq could further disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf, where most of the world's oil is produced. Crude spiked on Monday but retreated significantly in the following session after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which controls two-thirds of world crude exports, said on Tuesday it would raise production by at least 500,000 barrels a day unless oil prices drop sharply in the next two weeks. Under an informal output agreement, OPEC hopes to keep the price in a range of $22 to $28 a barrel by increasing supply if prices exceed the upper end of the band for 20 consecutive trading days. The strike in Venezuela has led to mile-long gas lines in the capital of Caracas and other cities. Venezuela has begun importing gasoline from neighbouring Brazil in an effort to break an oil workers' strike. The move has enraged Chavez's opponents, who accused Brazil of interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs by helping the leftist leader break the strike.
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