¡¡NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Crude oil prices rose to their eight-week highs Monday as a report showed Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had reduced daily production.

    On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures for March delivery rose 28 cents to end at 48.81 dollars a barrel. Meanwhile,in London the March Brent crude-oil futures contract climbed 28 cents to settle at 46.61 dollars per barrel.

    On Monday, a consultant company said OPEC cut production by 800,000 barrels a day this month from December's average. Oil prices also got a boost from the coldest temperatures so far this winter in the US Northeast.

    "The OPEC production cuts combined with inventory expectations justify higher prices," said an American energy analyst. "The 800,000 barrels is a substantial cut, especially with demand rising."

    More analysts expected that distillate fuels stockpiles, which included heating oil and diesel, could fall by 1.78 million barrels last week due to the cold wave in the US Northeast.

    The blizzard that struck Boston and New York on January 22, along with more than a week of sub-freezing temperatures in the region probably further deleted inventories of distillate fuels.

    OPEC members were scheduled to meet in Vienna on January 30 to review output and prices. New York oil futures went up 20 percent since OPEC's meeting last December. Enditem