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Oil Slides as Producers Dither Over Output Limit

Oil Slides as Producers Dither Over Output Limit
Oil Slides as Producers Dither Over Output Limit

Oil prices slid on Monday after non-OPEC producers made no specific commitment to join OPEC in limiting output levels to prop up prices, suggesting they want the oil producing group to solve its differences first.

London Brent crude for December delivery was down 38 cents at $49.33 a barrel after settling down 76 cents on Friday. US WTI crude for December delivery was trading down 30 cents, or 0.6%, at $48.40 a barrel, after closing down $1.02 on Friday, Reuters reported.

Officials and experts from OPEC countries and non-OPEC nations, including Azerbaijan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Oman and Russia, met for consultations in Vienna on Saturday and only agreed to meet again in November before a scheduled regular OPEC meeting on Nov. 30, they said in a statement.

"Oil prices are starting the new week of trading down after a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC countries failed to produce any agreement at the weekend," Commerzbank said in a note.

It added there could be more downward pressure later in the day, as it expected OPEC production surveys to show the group produced "significantly more oil than necessary in October".

On Friday, OPEC members failed to agree how to put in place a global deal to limit production, following objections from Iran that has refused to freeze its output.

OPEC and non-OPEC countries said in a joint statement that their Saturday meeting was a "positive development" toward reaching a global output limiting deal on Nov. 30.

Robin Bieber, director with PVM Oil Associates, said the OPEC deal was "a shambles".

"If OPEC were in any doubt what awaits failure to agree a production cut in November, last week's price action should have been a wakeup call," Bieber said.

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