Oil prices soar after OPEC deal

NEW YORK -- Oil prices soared Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) clinched an agreement to cut production, first of its kind since 2008.

The deal triggered frenzy trading for the second consecutive day. Benchmark Brent oil climbed to the highest level this year in intraday trading and hit record trading volumes for February and March.

OPEC agreed on Wednesday to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day to 32.5 million for the first half of 2017, prompting predictions of a possible crude price rally to 60 U.S. dollars a barrel.

The West Texas Intermediate for January Delivery increased 1.62 U.S. dollars to settle at 51.06 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery added 2.1 dollars to close at 53.94 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.