West Texas
Intermediate crude fell for a second day as OPEC considered sparing
three nations from potential output cuts when the group meets in Vienna
this week.
Futures slid as much as 0.4 percent in New York.
Iraq, Iran and Libya wouldn™t have to trim supplies should the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agree to a reduction,
according to two people with knowledge of the proposal. This is not the
first time the market is oversupplied, Saudi Arabia™s Oil Minister Ali
Al-Naimi said in the Austrian capital.
Oil has collapsed into a bear market as the U.S.
pumps crude at the fastest rate in more than three decades amid signs of
a supply glut. Some OPEC producers are resisting calls to reduce
production while Venezuela and Ecuador seek action to support prices
ahead of discussions on Nov. 27.
WTI for January delivery dropped as much as 31
cents to $75.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange and was at $75.68 at 10:06 a.m. Sydney time. The
contract lost 73 cents to $75.78 yesterday. The volume of all futures
traded was about 43 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have
decreased 23 percent this year.
Brent for January settlement dropped 68 cents, or
0.9 percent, to $79.68 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe
exchange yesterday. The European benchmark crude ended the session at a
premium of $3.90 to WTI.
Source: Bloomberg
