Algeria, Libya in squeeze as Nigeria cuts oil price

Pressure is mounting on Algeria and Libya to reduce their oil prices following Nigeria's announcement of a $4 cut in its oil price of $40 a barrel, oil market analysts said.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will now offer all customers a $4 discount, although the official price will remain $40. Nigeria's decision, effective immediately, makes it the first major Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries producer to be forced into a major price cut by the present surplus in the world market.

Libya and Algeria are in a particularly vulnerable position, since they are still seeking to keep their oil prices high in defiance of the current surplus, analysts said.