London, Oct 28: The price of oil was stuck at 11-week lows in early trading here on Monday with many speculators apparently losing interest in betting on a US-led war on Iraq, analysts said. Signs that the OPEC oil cartel is leaking oil onto the market in excess of their official quotas was also weighing on the market, they added.

The price of reference Brent North Sea crude oil was steady at $25.45 a barrel here by midday, against $25.46 at the end of trading on Friday — the lowest closing level since August 9.

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In New York, the benchmark light sweet crude December contract slumped $1.15 to $27.05 a barrel on Friday, also the lowest close since August 9.

Commerzbank oil analyst Steve Turner said the fall had been driven by speculation over the likelihood of a war on Iraq rather than fundamental factors.

"A war still looks as likely as it has done for some time but the speculators seem unwilling to continue to bet on a higher oil price," he said.

"It's going to be interesting to see now how things move while the UN Security Council is having this debate this week because there is still a distinct possibility that the US will go it alone even if the UN can't agree a resolution," he added.

Until the recent slide, analysts said the prospect of a US invasion of Iraq had added several dollars to the price of a barrel of oil amid concern that such action could disrupt Middle East oil supplies, though most experts believe any stoppages would be minor. Bureau Report