Oil may rise next week as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut production and cold weather spurs fuel demand in the northern U.S.

Twenty-six of 46 analysts, traders and brokers, or 57 percent, said prices will increase, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Six forecast a decline and 14 predicted little change. The percentage of people predicting a gain was the highest since July. Last week, 43 percent said oil would fall.

Yesterday, Abu Dhabi joined Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer, in reducing oil shipments to Asia. U.S. crude-oil inventories fell the most since July in the week ended Oct. 20, the Energy Department reported two days ago. Households and businesses turned on furnaces from Minneapolis to Philadelphia this week because of a cold snap.

``OPEC is regaining some credibility with the recent announcements by some members,'' said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at Fimat USA in New York. Lower imports and reports of reduced tanker loadings ``are also supporting the idea of an OPEC cut. The early arrival of cold weather is going to push up fuel demand.''

Crude oil for December delivery rose $1.03, or 1.7 percent, to $60.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the first four days of this week. The contract traded at $60.41 at 8:27 a.m. Singapore time.

OPEC, which pumps about 40 percent of the world's oil, said on Oct. 20 that members would collectively cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day to prop up prices. Oil has declined about $18 a barrel from the record $78.40 reached on July 14.

OPEC Cuts

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the emirate's state-owned company, will cut crude-oil exports by as much as 5 percent in November. Abu Dhabi is the largest oil producer in the United Arab Emirates, which pumped 2.6 million barrels a day in September, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, on Oct. 21 notified Japanese refiners including Cosmo Oil Co. and Idemitsu Kosan Co. that it will cut exports as much as 8 percent from contracted volumes in November. Saudi Arabia is OPEC's largest producer and the world's biggest exporter.

OPEC's shipments of crude oil will decline 2 percent in the month to Nov. 11 from the preceding four weeks because of refinery maintenance, Halifax, England-based consultant Oil Movements said yesterday.

Roused From Complacency

``North American oil markets, which had gotten complacent on higher inventories, are now being roused by shrinking stocks and the onset of colder weather,'' said Gavin Wendt, senior resources analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. ``Supplies are still very tight and just one supply hiccup away from $65 to $70 a barrel once again.''

U.S. inventories of crude oil dropped 3.21 million barrels last week to 332.3 million, the Energy Department said Oct. 26.

U.S. gasoline supplies fell 2.76 million barrels to 207.4 million last week, the report showed. Stockpiles of distillate fuel, which includes heating oil and diesel, slipped 1.42 million barrels to 144 million. The report was expected to show that crude supplies rose as refiners shut units for maintenance.

Fuel consumption has been higher in the past four weeks than it was last year after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina damped demand in the U.S.

Gasoline use has averaged 9.3 million barrels a day in the period, a 3.3 percent increase from last year.

U.S. Demand

``Oil may reach as high as $63 a barrel next week, supported by growing demand in the U.S. for gasoline and other products,'' said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures Ltd. in Tokyo. ``Fuel inventories declined at a faster-than-expected pace, indicating solid demand growth.''

Lower-than-normal temperatures will cover most of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. from Nov. 1 through Nov. 5, according to the National Weather Service. Home-heating use in the Northeast, where 80 percent of the nation's heating oil is burned, will be 11 percent above normal through Nov. 2, Weather Derivatives, a forecaster in Belton, Missouri, said yesterday.

Analysts who expected prices to be little changed or fall said that last week's oil supply drop was a one-time event and may not be repeated.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the biggest U.S. oil import terminal, was shut for one day, which may have cut deliveries. U.S. crude imports fell 9 percent last week to an average 9.49 million barrels a day, the lowest since March.

The survey has correctly predicted the direction of prices 52 percent of the time since it was introduced.

     Bloomberg's survey of oil analysts and traders, conducted
each Thursday, asks for an assessment of whether crude oil
futures are likely to rise, fall or remain neutral in the coming
week. The results were:

              RISE      NEUTRAL    FALL
               26         14        6