Oil fell on Tuesday on expectations that OPEC may increase output and following a decline in global stock markets.
U.S. oil dropped 59 cents to $97.11 a barrel by 2:16 a.m. EST, after shedding more than $1.00 earlier in the session.
London Brent crude fell by 48 cents to $94.84 a barrel.
However, on Tuesday Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi gave no sign whether
OPEC would agree this year's second output rise when it meets next
week. He however confirmed that the kingdom had raised production to 9
million barrels per day (bpd).
"When we meet on the fifth (of December) we will look at all
information available, and decide accordingly, on whatever the
information tells us about supply, demand, inventories," Naimi told
reporters in Singapore, where he is due to speak at an energy
conference on Wednesday.
At the weekend, Iran's Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari had said
some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
were advocating an increase in production when the cartel meets in Abu
Dhabi on December 5.
OPEC ministers will weigh the risks of a credit slum and possibly a
recession in the United States, potentially curbing future demand,
against concerns of a supply shortfall in the Northern Hemisphere's
peak winter season that has driven the rally in oil prices to near $100.
Oil prices were also depressed by a decline in U.S. shares, with
major indices down around 2 percent on Monday on investors' concerns
that rising mortgage defaults and credit market losses would drag on
the world's biggest economy. Asian shares also fell across the board on
Tuesday and European shares were seen opening weaker.