OPEC may not be able to prevent supplies from growing as demand eases in the second quarter.
Apr crude ended down 44 cents at $27.95 a barrel, nearing its lowest level this week and extending Thursday's losses, said Bridge News
OPEC meets next Friday in Vienna and is expected to cut production by 0.5 to 1.0 million barrels per day in an effort to offset the likely inventory rise over the next three months and keep prices for their crude above $25 a barrel.
"Basically we are looking for a small cut," said George Beranek, industry
analyst at Petroleum Finance Co. in Washington.
"There's just not much need to remove oil, there's a period here over the next month or two, depending on how things go, of relatively modest demand."
A Venezuela source told BridgeNews Thursday that OPEC was looking at a 1.0 million barrels per day reduction, while a source close to OPEC was reported to have said Friday the cartel was leaning toward an 800,000 bpd cut.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
