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Oil prices rally as U.S. steps up preparations for war After falling sharply, prices turned around March 4, with April crude oil futures ending at $36.89; natural gas for April delivery closed March 4 at $7.041 by The Associated Press
Crude oil futures rallied March 4, staging a sharp recovery after three straight sessions of declines on hopes that a war with Iraq could be averted. Between Feb. 27 and March 3, prices fell sharply as Iraq's increased cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors and Turkey's rejection of access to U.S. troops sparked speculation that a U.S.-led attack on Iraq could be avoided, or at least delayed by several weeks.
But prices turned around March 4 as the United States stepped up military preparations for a possible war and indicated it would seek U.N. Security Council approval of a resolution on military action next week, analysts said.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude oil futures rose $1.01 to end at $36.89 a barrel after rising as high as $37.18 intraday.
April heating oil futures ended up 1.26 cent at $1.0486 a gallon, while April gasoline futures climbed 1.74 cent to settle at $1.1122 a gallon.
At London's International Petroleum Exchange, April Brent futures rose 61 cents to close at $33.09 a barrel. Natural gas for April delivery retreated 12.1 cents to settle at $7.041 per thousand cubic feet.
U.S. deploys 60,000 more troups American officials, dismissing Iraq's destruction of its short-range Al Samoud 2 missiles as inadequate and insincere, pressed ahead for a final confrontation.
Military forces continued to mass in the Persian Gulf, with the United States deploying an additional 60,000 troops to the region atop the 230,000 troops already there. Turkey is also debating whether to resubmit a parliamentary motion to allow more than 60,000 U.S. troops to use the country as a northern front against Iraq.
At the same time, officials said they plan to bring to a vote next week a Security Council resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. The measure, backed by Great Britain and Spain, faces stiff opposition from Security Council members.
Meanwhile, OPEC and non-OPEC oil ministers will meet the week of March 9 to discuss what they could do in the event of a war in Iraq.
OPEC countries have increased production in recent months in response to a strike in Venezuela and soaring oil prices. According to a Dow Jones Newswires survey, OPEC crude oil output jumped by 1.43 million barrels a day to 27.091 million barrels a day in February from January.
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