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To: William L. Oppenheim who wrote (19456)	4/17/1998 3:25:00 AM
From: Czechsinthemail	Respond to of 95453

Oil Claws Back Losses On Venezuela Pledge LONDON, April 15 - World oil prices struggled higher on Wednesday as Venezuela's reassurance of its commitment to cut production bolstered sagging markets. Benchmark Brent blend crude futures for June loading traded 30 cents higher at $14.20 a barrel by 1625 GMT. Prices were boosted by Luis Giusti, president of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) that Caracas' oil exports will average 3.09 million barrels per day (bpd) in 1998. Giusti's announcement eased traders' doubts over Venezuela's resolve in implementing the 200,000 bpd production cut it pledged in a recent multinational producers pact. ''The (Venezuela) headline wasn't any real news but I suppose (Guisti) was just trying to reiterate that the deal will make a difference,'' said one dealer. Giusti's announcement was offset by a the latest weekly American Petroleum Institute (API) figures which revealed that U.S. crude stocks jumped by 6.5 million barrels. The API data, a leading indicator of inventory patterns in the world's biggest importer, also showed a hefty gain in distillate stocks. World petroleum stocks are already brimming over after this year's rare first quarter inventory build. The glut of oil in storage is tethering world oil prices despite the production cuts pledged by world producers aimed at bolstering revenues. International benchmark Brent is now less than $1.50 above nine-year lows scraped before Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela's March 22 pact to cut output. Some 16 oil producers ultimately joined the pact, which should shave some 1.5 million barrels a day (bpd) from the 75 million bpd global market if pledges are honoured. The deal linked 10 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with key producers from outside the group, chiefly Norway and Mexico. But dealers are choosing to wait for confirmation that cuts are actually being implemented, wary after OPEC members' history of pumping above agreed production quotas. The new API data did provide some hope for beleaguered oil producers, showing that U.S. total oil consumption in March jumped 3.8 percent from last year. And demand in the key U.S. gasoline market was up 2.5 percent. The robust economy, lower gasoline prices and gains in personal income combinined to spur higher demand, said the API. The U.S. Department of Energy has predicted that this summer's U.S. driving season should post the biggest demand gains in a decade.