admincents to US$101,61 a barrel in London afternoon deals.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for July lost 63 cents to US$92,50 a barrel.
“Crude oil prices remained under pressure with Brent oil trading back to the US$101 per barrel area, as investors remain cautious ahead of the decisions of the Opec meeting that will clarify the current economic conditions for the oil market,” said Myrto Sokou, senior research analyst at Sucden brokers.
Iraq indicated yesterday that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should maintain its oil production ceiling at this week’s output meeting in Vienna, arguing that it was wary of damaging the fragile global economy by cutting output which would raise prices.
“In general, Opec targets — in making the market well supplied — are met these days and we do not want to cause a shock to the market which will affect the global economy,” Iraqi Oil Minister Abdulkarim al-Luaybi told reporters in the Austrian capital, on the eve of the meeting.
Ministers from Opec member countries have expressed satisfaction with current benchmark Brent crude price of about US$100 a barrel.
Also yesterday, “the weekly . . . oil inventories report could give a better insight about the levels of the US oil demand and oil stocks”, said Sokou.
She added: “It is a very busy day in the US economic figures as the release of the US GDP data and housing figures along with the weekly jobless claims data will set the tone in today’s trading session.”
Oil prices had closed almost two dollars lower on Wednesday after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which groups industrial economies, trimmed its forecast for 2013 world economic growth to 3,1 percent from 3,4 percent.
The same day, the International Monetary Fund trimmed its 2013 growth estimate for China to around 7,75 percent from 8,0 percent, citing a sluggish global recovery which hurt exports, a mainstay of the world’s second largest economy. — AFP.
Online Reporter