World oil prices rebounded on Monday, reaching almost 61 dollars a barrel in London trade, as stock markets firmed and a closely-watched report forecast a jump in crude futures in coming months.Earlier Monday, they had extended losses as market attention switched to worries about possible weaker demand for crude in the United States following last week's production meeting of OPEC, analysts said.But in its monthly report, the Centre for Global Energy Studies said prices were set to jump over the coming months after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided against an increase to its crude output at a ministerial meeting last Thursday.In London on Monday, the price of Brent North Sea crude for May delivery climbed 67 cents to 60.97 dollars per barrel in electronic trading.New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained 33 cents to 57.44 dollars per barrel in pit deals.Crude futures won a lift from rebounding stock markets. Wall Street shares rocketed higher Monday as investors cheered several new merger and acquisition deals, traders said.Sucden analyst Michael Davies said prices had fallen earlier Monday "amid concerns that troubles in the US housing sector could spread into the broader domestic economy and dent demand for energy." Looking ahead, he added that oil prices could draw support from strong demand for gasoline (petrol) ahead of the summer driving season in the United States.The gasoline situation is in focus ahead of the peak-demand season, beginning May 31, when US drivers throng roads during their summer vacations.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last Thursday decided to keep its daily output target at 25.8 million barrels, arguing that global supply levels were healthy."By failing to increase oil supply, OPEC has set the scene for another upward spiral in oil prices over the summer," the Centre for Global Energy Studies said in a report published Monday."Having cut output at the start of the winter, OPEC always risked taking too much oil off the market at a time when demand for its exports was strong and that is exactly what has happened. "Plunging temperatures and slower than expected growth in non-OPEC output have depleted stocks and left crude oil in short supply," CGES added.OPEC, which supplies more than one third of the world's oil, had cut production at its two previous meetings in October and December.
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