Gulf oil countries expected to raise prices

Gulf oil exporting countries might announce higher prices within the next few days but the amounts remain uncertain, industry sources said. Under an agreement worked out in Bali last month by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Gulf producers can raise prices by up to $4 a barrel. Gulf oil analysts said the price increases would be backdated to Jan. 1 but the Gulf producers wanted to see what other OPEC members were doing. Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ali Khalifa al-Sabah has predicted that most Gulf countries will raise prices no more than $3 dollars a barrel.