US oil prices held above $30 today ahead of a meeting of OPEC producers later in the week to discuss whether to curb supplies to the market as demand dips to the lowest point in the year. US light crude stood 14 cents lower at $30.41 a barrel.
Trade in Brent crude on London's International Petroleum Exchange was closed for the Easter holiday.
US crude jumped five per cent on Thursday, the last trading day before a public holiday on Friday, after Iran called on OPEC to cut official OPEC limits, warning that failure to rein in supply could trigger a price collapse.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is scheduled to meet in Vienna on Thursday to review market conditions and output policy.
The emergency meeting was called after oil dropped about 30 percent in one month, raising fears that prices could head sub-$20 during the second quarter when demand is at its weakest.
The prospect of a return of Iraqi crude exports, halted since just before the United States launch its attack on March 20th to oust Saddam Hussein, is also expected to put prices under downward pressure.
OPEC, which controls two-thirds of world crude exports, has ramped up output this year to counter supply disruptions and produced more than 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) over its self-imposed production ceiling of 24.5 million bpd in March.