SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Global oil prices eased below $82 a barrel in Asian trade Thursday mainly on a strong dollar amid expectations for OPEC to keep pumping above quotas in the second quarter.

Light sweet crude for April delivery was seen trading at $81.61 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $80.06 a barrel at the same time.

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The black Gold dropped for the second day on a stronger dollar and concern that recent price gains outpaced demand growth in the U.S., the world’s largest energy consumer.

Analysts also said expectations for OPEC to keep pumping above quotas in the second quarter, pulling prices down from eight-week highs reached a day earlier.

Falling fuel inventories in the United States and the first few weekly gains in total demand in one-and-a-half years have bolstered the view that the market will absorb ample supplies from Opec as Chinese imports soar.

Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meet in Vienna on 17 March to discuss production policy.

On Wednesday, prices rebounded to end the session higher after profit-taking had erased earlier gains from news that Gasoline stocks in the United States dropped unexpectedly.

U.S. light, sweet Crude Oil Front Month Futures for April delivery rose 60 cents to settle at $82.09 a barrel while Brent crude rose 57 cents to settle at $80.48 on the ICE futures exchange.

Output from the cartel is bloating US crude inventories. They have climbed for the past six weeks, showing a 1.4-million-barrel gain to 343 million barrels in the week to 5 March, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

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