Oil prices eased today as OPEC looked set to keep output unchanged at its meeting this weekend.
US light crude was down 40 cents at $48.44 a barrel, after gaining six cents on Thursday when it rose as high as $49.65.
London's IPE Brent crude, which hit a 12-week high of $47.35 on Thursday, was down 45 cents at $45.99 a barrel.
"The rally may not be quite over - at least until January 30 when the OPEC meeting and Iraqi elections push sentiment one way or another," said JP Morgan's Head of Energy Research, Ms Katherine Spector, in a monthly report.
"But weak fundamentals continue to point to a downward adjustment coming out of the winter months. We maintain our view that prices will target the mid- to upper-$30s by the second quarter."
Ministers from OPEC look unlikely to agree any change in the group's crude oil output at Sunday's meeting.
Several ministers have said that a cut in output cannot be justified due to the current high price of oil.
A cut had been mooted to prevent stocks from building too quickly in the second quarter, as demand falls after the northern hemisphere winter ends. Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said on Thursday that OPEC could afford to wait at least until March before reducing supply.