Boomberg news artical on oil
Oil traded near the lowest close in eight months in New York before OPEC meets to discuss production quotas amid speculation the group won’t cut output as the global economy weakens.
Futures were little changed after dropping a fourth time in five days yesterday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which meets in Vienna today, will probably maintain its output ceiling as concern that global growth is shrinking outweighs calls for supply cuts to stem sliding crude prices, three of the cartel’s oil ministers said. U.S. retail sales fell and Spain’s debt rating was cut by Moody’s Investors Service.
Oil for July delivery was at $82.54 a barrel, down 8 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:40 a.m. Sydney time. The contract fell 0.8 percent yesterday to $82.62, the lowest close since Oct. 6. Prices are down 16 percent this year.
Brent oil for July settlement, which expires today, slipped 1 cent to $97.13 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The more-actively traded August contract slid 25 cents to $96.72. The European benchmark contract’s premium to West Texas Intermediate closed at $14.51.
Ministers from Ecuador, Kuwait and Nigeria said yesterday that OPEC is set to keep its 30 million barrel-a-day limit. Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Angola, Ecuador and Libya have argued that crude supplies are excessive. While an increase of as much as 1 million barrels a day suggested by some Gulf Arab countries would help Europe weather its slowdown, the 12-member group will probably settle on the status quo, according to two Middle Eastern delegates who declined to be identified because a decision hasn’t been made.
U.S. retail sales fell 0.2 percent in May, matching the revised decrease for April, Commerce Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. Spain was cut three steps to Baa3 from A3 by Moody’s, which cited the nation’s increased debt burden, weakening economy and limited access to capital markets.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-13/oil-trades-near-eight-month-low-before-opec-meets-on-production.html