VIENNA - Oil prices fell sharply Thursday amid expectations the powerful oil collective OPEC will decide against intervening in global markets by cutting production levels.
Brent oil prices plummeted over 2% to $72.15 a barrel. In June, prices were as high as $115 a barrel.
Energy ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, were meeting in Vienna Thursday against the backdrop of oil prices that are at their their lowest levels in four years. That drop is partly a result of output that is running ahead of demand. It is also being driven by a boom in shale production in the United States.
Prices have fallen 30% since they last met in June. OPEC countries account for 40% of global oil production. OPEC has a production target of 30 million barrels a day that is has been exceeding by 600,000 barrels a day for the past six months.
This file photo shows an oil well. The OPEC oil producers cartel meets in Vienna on November 27, 2014 for a pivotal decision on whether to reduce the amount of oil it produces.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images file)
Ahead of the meeting, Ali Al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's oil minister, said he expected oil markets to 'stabilize,' lowering expectations that a reduction in supply would take place. Some of poorer members of OPEC, such as Venezuela, are thought to be pushing for a cut because they need a higher oil prices to sustain their economies.
'The fair price for all OPEC members is different,' Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh told journalists at the conference on Thursday. 'We hope that OPEC will arrive at a price that is acceptable for all OPEC countries to allow them to continue producing and to help support their economies.'
Due to ongoing economic sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran's ability to sell its oil on world markets is restricted.
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Entities 0 Name: OPEC Count: 8 1 Name: VIENNA Count: 3 2 Name: Saudi Arabia Count: 2 3 Name: Iran Count: 1 4 Name: Ali Al-Naimi Count: 1 5 Name: United States Count: 1 6 Name: Bijan Namdar Zangeneh Count: 1 7 Name: Venezuela Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1FqAQhD Title: Oil price falls ahead of Opec meeting Description: The price of oil has fallen as Opec oil producers prepare for their meeting on Thursday and data showed crude stocks rose last week. Inventories of commercial US crude oil increased by 1.9 million barrels from the previous week, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
