Prices Fall as OPEC Readies Supply

Red-hot world oil prices fell back 4% as OPEC indicated its readiness to fill supply gaps caused by a 29-day oil strike in Venezuela and looming war in Iraq.

U.S. light crude futures in New York settled down $1.35 at $31.37 a barrel after falling as low as $31.14.

U.S. crude earlier set a two-year high of $33.65 a barrel on fears that a U.S. attack against Iraq could further sap global supplies already hit by Venezuela’s long strike.

Prices slid as a senior delegate from a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the cartel will raise oil output quotas by at least 500,000 barrels per day unless prices drop heavily in the next two weeks.