Oil clings near $68 ahead of OPEC meeting

Oil prices stayed near $68 a barrel for the fourth straight day on Monday as OPEC was expected to keep its members' output levels steady at this week's meeting.

By midday in Europe, benchmark crude for October delivery was up 37 cents to $68.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Friday rose 6 cents to settle at $68.02.

Trading volume was light because of Monday's Labor Day holiday in the U.S.

Traders are eyeing Wednesday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna. OPEC President Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos, who is also Angola's oil minister, said last week that the 12-member group will likely keep output quotas unchanged.

Crude prices have swung wildly in the past year, reaching $147 a barrel in July 2008 before plunging to $32 a barrel in February. Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer, has said $75 is a fair price for consumers and producers.

Some analysts predicted prices would soon bounce back, with oil fundamentals continuing to take a back seat to other developments in equities, the position of the U.S. dollar and speculative investments.

"Oil prices are expected to continue to be driven mainly by financial indicators. It seems only a matter of time before another wave of euphoria in equities boosts oil market sentiment," said a report from KBC Market Services in Britain.

"Oil prices may trade lower for a period but a return to the $70-$75 (per barrel) range could occur quite soon," KBC said.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for October delivery was up 0.58 cent to $1.7821 a gallon, and heating oil gained 1.01 cents to $1.7306 a gallon. Natural gas advanced 2.5 cents to $2.753 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was up 82 cents to $67.64 on the ICE Futures exchange.