Opec eyes cut in production as oil price falls below $60
Oil exporting countries may consider a cut in output after crude prices fell below $60 a barrel yesterday to a six-month low on a decline in global demand and an easing of tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Ministers from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are understood to be concerned about the drop in oil prices, which are down almost a quarter from their recent peaks.
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They have discussed trimming production before the ministerial meeting in Nigeria in December, according to Opec officials.
The fall in the oil price over the past month has been accompanied by investor selling in oil and other commodity markets, mainly on concerns that US economic growth is slowing.
"There is a concern by hedge funds that oil and commodities are no longer the one-way bet they once were," said an Opec official.
Brent, the European benchmark oil price, dropped to a six-month low of $59.32 a barrel, down 24 per cent from a peak of $78.40 reached last month. But oil prices recovered in late trading, with Brent rising 90 cents to $61.32 on the threat of Opec production cuts. The US benchmark oil price, West Texas Intermediate, hit $59.62, its lowest since early March, before recovering to $61.85, up $1.30 on the day.
If Opec does trim its official production ceiling, it would be the first cut since December 2004, when oil prices were close to$42 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has been cutting output since the end of last year.
Opec maintained its quota of 28m barrels a day at its recent meeting in Vienna, close to the cartel's actual output last month. Investors have been selling out of oil futures over the past month after taking bets earlier in the year on expectations of hurricanes disrupting oil supplies in the US Gulf of Mexico. But with the Atlantic hurricane season finishing at the end of September, there is little prospect of a repeat of last year's devastating storms.
However, some analysts have warned that a severe winter could eat into stocks, while delays in developing oilfields and refineries may put renewed strains on global capacity.
Opec members are also preserving high export prices to support government budgets in producer countries. Many Opec producers have embarked on big spending programmes on the back of the higher oil price.
油价跌破每桶60美元 欧佩克考虑减产
石油出口国可能会考虑削减石油产量，此前，原油价格昨日跌至每桶60美元以下，为6个月来首次。
油价下跌之际，全球需求已从年中的顶峰水平有所回落，围绕伊朗的紧张局势也有所缓解。
据悉，石油输出国组织(OPEC，欧佩克)的石油部长们对于油价下跌感到忧虑，目前油价已从近期的峰值水平下挫近四分之一。
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欧佩克官员表示，他们已讨论在今年12月在尼日利亚举行的下届部长级会议之前削减石油产量的可能性。
过去一个月，在油价下跌的同时，石油和其它大宗商品市场的投资者纷纷抛售，主要是担心美国经济增长放缓。
近一个月来，投资者一直在抛售石油期货。今年早些时候，他们曾下注飓风将破坏墨西哥湾的石油供应。
然而，随着9月底大西洋飓风季节的结束，去年那种破坏力极大的风暴几乎不可能再次出现。
欧佩克不仅担心石油市场上的投资者行为，还为保持石油出口价格高企操心，高油价支撑着欧佩克成员国的政府预算。
最近几年，由于油价飙升，许多欧佩克产油国启动了巨额开支计划。
在维也纳最近召开的欧佩克会议上，该组织将产量配额维持在每日2800万桶，接近该组织上月的实际产量。
自去年底以来，欧佩克关键成员国和全球最大石油出口国沙特一直在削减石油产量。
如果欧佩克果真削减其官方石油产量上限的话，这将是该组织自2004年12月以来首次削减产量，当时石油价格接近每桶42美元。
