Oil prices sink near $46

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices sank nearly a dollar Friday as OPEC and the IEA cut their 2009 demand projections.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery ended the day down 78 cents to $46.25 a barrel in New York. Oil jumped $4.70 a barrel, or 11%, on Thursday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps nearly a third of the world's oil supply, also revised its 2009 world consumption estimates down to 84.6 million barrels per day from 85.13 last month.

To deal with the declining demand, OPEC has been scaling back production, with the goal of reducing output by 4.2 million barrels a day since September, in a bid to prop up rapidly falling oil prices. According to the most recent Reuters estimates, the group has met about 81% of its goal.

The group meets this weekend to discuss the possibility of further production cuts. However Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, and OPEC's most influential member, said this week it would rather push for greater compliance with existing cuts.

Traders are expressing skepticism about another production cut, according to Steve Brassey, senior broker at trading firm Sonic Futures in California.

"I think deep down inside, the Saudis ... don't want to cut any further," he said.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency, a group that helps dictate energy policy for 28 nations, including the United States, also cut its forecast for 2009 demand to 84.4 million barrels per day million barrels per day from 85.6 projected last month.

"The lower demand numbers are weighing on the crude markets today," said Brian Hicks, fund manager at investment firm U.S. Global Investors.

The price of oil tumbled more than $100 a barrel in the second half of 2008 as the world's once-robust demand for energy evaporated amid the global financial crisis.

So far this year, the price of oil has bounced between $34 and $49 a barrel as investors respond to OPEC's production cuts but remain wary about anemic demand.