‘Wild Day’ for U.S. Crude on Oil Markets

U.S. crude oil futures prices seesawed Wednesday after Persian Gulf nations scheduled an emergency meeting, heightening speculation in skittish markets that an agreement could be near on production cuts.

The main U.S. crude, West Texas Intermediate, fell as low as $11.49 per 42-gallon barrel on contracts for April delivery at the New York Mercantile Exchange, surged to $13 and then dropped back to $12.09, amounting to an overall gain of 11 cents from the previous close.

“It was a wild day. It was very volatile day,” said Andrew Lebow, a oil futures specialist at Shearson Lehman Bros.

Analysts said the Persian Gulf meeting scheduled for Saturday had led some traders to believe that the oil-endowed nations led by Saudi Arabia would devise a strategy limiting production. This view caused the brief upward spurt in prices before underlying skepticism about the ability of producers to cooperate pushed the market down.

The fluctuation also was attributed to short covering, a scramble to buy oil to lock in profits or limit losses from earlier sales of borrowed oil.