OPEC Expected to Keep Production Levels Steady

Oil prices held near $61 a barrel Tuesday in advance of this week’s OPEC meeting, at which cartel ministers were expected to keep production levels steady, Bloomberg reported.

Crude futures were trading near $61 in advance of Thursday’s OPEC meeting in Vienna, Bloomberg said.

Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi said there would be no increase in production at the meeting, the Associated Press reported.

Bloomberg said that a survey of 27 analysts showed that the cartel would hold production steady.

Oil rose more than $5 last week, to close the trading week at $61.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which was closed Monday for Memorial Day.