OIL

BRENT and West Texas intermediate (WTI) crudes dropped yesterday as investors weighed the possibility that Opec will agree to cut oil output next week.

Brent for January settlement declined 0.8 percent to $78.64 a barrel (R5.44 a litre) on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. WTI for December delivery fell 1.1 percent to $74.78 at 11.09am on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Opec member Venezuela met with Russia to discuss ways to support oil prices, the Foreign Ministry in Caracas said on Monday. The the oil producers’ cartel, responsible for about 40 percent of global supply, will discuss output at a meeting in Vienna next Thursday.

Traders are also pondering the chances that talks over Iran’s nuclear programme could result in an agreement.

“The market is divided over whether Opec will decide to make a cut or not at next week’s meeting,” John Kilduff at Again Capital said in New York. – Bloomberg