Oil Futures End Mixed

Oil Futures End Mixed

NEW YORK (DTN) -- New York Mercantile Exchange oil futures settled mixed Monday afternoon with the ULSD contract higher while West Texas Intermediate crude and RBOB futures slumped on concern the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries might not reach agreement to cut production when they meet late November, with WTI further pressured by expectations commercial crude supply in the United States increased last week.

NYMEX December WTI crude oil futures settled 33cts lower at $50.52 bbl, off a one-week spot low of $49.62. The December Brent futures on the IntercontinentalExchange were down 32cts at a $51.46 bbl settlement, paring a decline to a three-week low of $50.50.

In products trade, NYMEX November ULSD futures edged up 0.58cts to $1.5798 gallon at settlement. November RBOB futures settled 2.76cts lower at $1.5038 gallon.

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Market concern over OPEC not cutting production re-emerged over the weekend following a comment from Iraq's oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi who said Iraq would not reduce output as part of a deal reached in Algiers on Sept. 28.

OPEC, which holds its biannual meeting on Nov. 30, reached a framework for a production cut during informal meetings in Algiers in late September calling for a 32.5 to 33.0 million bpd output range that reflects a cut of as much as 700,000 bpd from August production. The Algiers' framework left the details -- including individual member quotas -- to be determined and voted on at the November meeting.

Iraq reported crude production at 4.775 million bpd in September, with output increasing sharply this year following years of war that constrained production.

Analysts have said it would be difficult for OPEC to reach an agreement to cut production without the participation of Iraq, OPEC's second largest producer after Saudi Arabia.

Domestically, early indications suggest commercial crude oil in the United States increased by a sizeable 3.0 million bbl in the week-ended Oct. 21 said analysts. However, Genscape, an industry tracking firm, reported crude supplies at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.0 million bbl during the week-ended Oct. 23.

The American Petroleum Institute will issue its data for the week-ended Oct. 21 Tuesday afternoon while the Energy Information Administration will release data on Wednesday.

George Orwel can be reached at george.orwel@dtn.com

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(CZS)

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