Read more in section
General Steel Guru: Naftogaz Ukrainy loses nearly Hr 2 billion in 9 months Today at 08:59
General Country Life: Where to invest in farmland Yesterday at 16:51
General Ukraine sees almost 1 percent inflation in October Yesterday at 12:43
Business Ukraine pays Russia gas debt, easing dispute fears Two days ago at 22:32
General Delinquent borrowers return about Hr 27 million in loan funds to banks, says security service Two days ago at 21:53
General Naftogaz may face problems paying for November gas imports Two days ago at 21:29
General Economy Ministry confirms GDP fall forecast for 2009 at 12% Two days ago at 18:14
General Fitch upgrades Naftogaz to 'CCC'; assigns expected bond rating of 'B' Two days ago at 17:31
General New generation satellite technologies to be implemented in Ukraine Two days ago at 16:03
Most popular Business
Oil above $47 on Ukraine-Russia gas dispute, Mideast confrontation
January 05 at 13:13An OPEC source told Reuters that the Iranian call would not sway other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
A strong start to the new year for stock markets, mounting evidence of OPEC's compliance with production cuts, and the U.S. Energy Department's decision to start rebuilding its crude reserves have also helped oil to a third day of gains.
Oil prices have risen by more than 25 percent since Israel launched its Gaza offensive on Dec. 27.
U.S. crude for February delivery rose to an early high of $48.68 a barrel on Monday -- the highest since December 15 -- before paring gains on profit-taking. The price was up $1.07 at $47.41 a barrel at 1030 GMT.
London Brent was up $1.17 at $48.08.
"Sabre rattling by Iran and further instability in the Middle East always produces fears for oil supplies, which is putting a platform under prices," said Bank of Ireland analyst Paul Harris.
The Gaza violence does not directly threaten any oil supplies, but traders said there was underlying concern it could affect other countries in the Middle East, the origin of a third of the world's crude, with No. 4 oil producer and OPEC member Iran typically the most vocal.
An Iranian military commander has called on Islamic countries to cut oil exports to Israel's supporters in Europe and the United States in response to the offensive in Gaza, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.
However, core OPEC oil producers in the Gulf were likely to ignore Iran's call, an OPEC source said on Monday.
"There are no plans to do this and I think it is very unlikely," the source told Reuters.
OPEC's most influential member Saudi Arabia and neighbours Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are regional allies to the United States.
RUSSIAN GAS
Adding to geopolitical concerns, Russian natural gas supplies to southeast Europe have been reduced as a result of Russia's stand-off with Ukraine over gas prices, which began on New Year's day. The two sides blame each other for the dispute.
European energy firms, which receive about a fifth of their gas via pipelines through Ukraine, said they had enough gas stockpiled to maintain supplies for several days, but analysts said Europe could face problems if the row dragged on.
The row, which recalls a similar dispute three years ago that also disrupted supplies, is likely to raise new questions in Europe about Russia's reliability as a gas supplier.
The market will also be looking for further signs of OPEC production cuts, after Libya and Abu Dhabi's National Oil Co both joined leading producer Saudi Arabia, vowing to cut output by January as OPEC trys to stem the $100 a barrel drop in oil prices since July 2008.
Senior OPEC officials have suggested the producer group could meet in mid-January or February to review the oil market's performance after announcing steep production cuts last month, although an OPEC source told Reuters on Monday that was unlikely.
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Tan and Jonathan Leff in Singapore; Editing by William Hardy)