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Oil prices drop
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September 12, 2000: 4:02 p.m. ET
Crude futures retreat in volatile trading; investors leery despite OPEC output hike
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Crude oil futures moved lower Tuesday, backing off from earlier highs, amid uncertainty about whether a decision by OPEC to hike production will cool the recent price rise.
U.S. light sweet crude for October delivery settled at $34.28 a barrel, down 86 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange after climbing as much as $35.85 earlier. London's benchmark Brent for November delivery settled at $32.65, down 93 cents.
Trading has been volatile following OPEC's agreement Monday to raise production by 800,000 barrels per day. Traders said the decline was merely a correction after recent sharp gains.
"Everyone is wondering whether the increased quotas will translate into actual new production," said Ed Maran, oil analyst at A.G. Edwards. "Many members of OPEC don't have excess production capacity."
President Bill Clinton said Tuesday he was watching how the oil market reacts to OPEC's decision to ramp up production, and considering what options his administration has to address high energy prices this winter.
"We're watching very closely what the market will do on prices as a result of the recent OPEC initiative and we're also examining what other options we might have in the event we have a tough winter," Clinton told reporters.
The Clinton administration has been considering whether to release emergency oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase supplies and lower prices.
To help the Northeast region this winter, Clinton said the Energy Department was on track to fill the 2 million barrel heating oil reserve planned for the region. "We need to make sure we do everything we can to get through this winter," he said.
Nevertheless, worries about low oil inventories continued, and the weekly American Petroleum Institute (API) report on stock crudes will be highly scrutinized. The API data is scheduled for release late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, pumps in some towns across Europe were running dry, and other gas stations were closed, as businesses affected by high oil prices continued to protest by blockading refineries, oil distribution facilities and roads in France, Belgium and Britain.
Panic buying by British motorists, anxious to buy before the gasoline runs out, exacerbated the problem and led to long lines at some gas stations. 
-- compiled from staff and wire reports
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