Norway shutdowns strengthen oil futures -

US crude oil futures ended stronger on Friday after jumping above $US59 on news of oilfield shutdowns in Norway and indications OPEC would meet this week to formalise a cut agreement.
The Norway oilfield operators said they will halt 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day output for a week or two to make lifeboat improvements.
And Algerian Energy Minister Chehib Khelil said today OPEC will announce a one million barrel a day cut in crude production.
November delivery crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 71 US cents to settle at $US58.57 a barrel.
Friday's strength came after prices slumped Thursday to $US57.22, the low for the year and the weakest since falling to $US56.90 on December 19, 2005.
In London, ICE Brent November crude rose 76 US cents, to settle at $US59.52 a barrel after reaching a session high of $US60.43.
NYMEX crude settled just above resistance at $US58.50, with $US60 looming above that.
Support was at $US57.50.
LONDON METALS EXCHANGE
Lead jumped $US1,517 a tonne, the highest since the contract was denominated into dollars in the early 1990s.
Nickel gained $US250 to $US30,750, lead eased slightly to $US1,490/1,494 from $US1,492/1,495 on Thursday, while tin kept $US325 of the day's gains to end at $9,775.
Copper lost $US30 to $US7,460, aluminium gained $US40 to $US2,635 and zinc rose $US25 to $US3,800.
COMEX
At the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery went up $US12.40 to settle at $US592.70 an ounce, trading from $US579.40 to $US594.20, its highest price since October 3.
Hedge fund buying in electronic trade before COMEX opened ran benchmark gold above $US585. Stop-loss buying after the start of open outcry carried the contract to the high.
© 2006 AAP