Oil prices ease as output rises

Oil prices fell on Monday as Venezuelan exports recovered from a supply-choking strike and after Opec ministers warned of a glut in supplies in the second quarter when winter demand ebbs. But the threat of a US-led war on Iraq kept crude above 30 a barrel.

8220;The strike is cracking. The question is how they can ramp up production,8221; said JP Morgan8217;s Paul Horsnell. Venezuelan oil output had risen to 1.8 million bpd.