Crude oil surged more than 9 percent to settle above US$54 a barrel yesterday as OPEC may further cut production and US stocks rallied on government's rescue plan of Citigroup.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose US$4.57 to settle at US$54.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Price hit US$55.30 a barrel.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil said yesterday in Vienna, Austria, that an output cut of more than 1 million barrels would be needed to support the current oil market. The cartel will meet for informal talks in Cairo on Nov. 29 and members including Venezuela and Iran have been calling for further production cut.

Oil also gained strong support from US stocks which rallied after the US government decided to pump US$20 billion into Citigroup and the President-elect Barack Obama announced his economic team.

The dollar weakened against other major currencies, which also contributed to the rise of the crude price.

In London, Brent for January delivery rose US$4.74 to settle at US$53.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.