"The results today seem clear. We still run the risks of cold weather...we don't have as many of inventories as we should."

- Claude Mandil, chief of the Paris-based International Energy Agency said, indicating that OPEC's decision to cut output by 1-mil b/d from Jan 1 and bring its production back to its 10-member 27-mil b/d ceiling was "premature," as prices are still high and oil stocks remain low.

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