NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices rose Monday on talk of an OPEC production cut, but they were off the day's highs after comments from Saudi Arabia put a damper on that speculation.U.S. crude for April delivery was up $1.54 to $47.06 a barrel at 1:39 p.m. ET. Earlier, crude rose as high as $48.83, the highest price since Jan. 7, when oil hit an intraday price of $49.09 a barrel.
At an energy conference in Qatar, Abdullah al-Badri, secretary general for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, told reporters that the slowing global economy could cause demand to fall by million barrels a day more than the group had predicted a month ago.
Investors initially interpreted al-Badri's comments as a sign that the group might announce another production cut when it meets Sunday in Vienna.
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