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Hong Kong - Oil traded near $49 a barrel as officials from Russia and Kuwait conducted meetings in Abu Dhabi with producers to examine why some are shirking their commitment to reduce output.
Futures lost 0.3% in New York after dropping 0.4% on Monday. Talks are being held separately with representatives from Iraq, United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan through Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.
US crude stockpiles probably declined by 2.1 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey shows before government data on Wednesday.
Oil in New York was unable to hold its first advance above $50 a barrel since May as signs of rising global supply eroded optimism that output curbs by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners are rebalancing the market.
Compliance by OPEC members slid to 78% in June, according to the International Energy Agency.
“The market will look for confirmation that the group will continue to abide by their cuts,” said David Lennox, a Sydney-based analyst at Fat Prophets. “Oil prices will probably do some work between $45 and $55 for some time.”
West Texas Intermediate for September delivery was at $49.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 16 cents, at 13:00 in Hong Kong. Total volume traded was about 29% below the 100-day average. Prices lost 19c to $49.39 on Monday.
Brent for October settlement dropped 22c to $52.15 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices slid 5c to $52.37 on Monday. The global benchmark traded at a premium of $2.80 to October WTI.
Findings from the meetings will be presented to the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee which oversees the agreement to cut production, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.
Iraqi compliance slumped to 29% in June, its lowest so far, while the UAE made just 60% of its cuts, according to the IEA.
Oil-market news:
• China’s crude imports in July fell to the lowest in six months after heavy buying earlier in the year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs released on Tuesday.
• Libya’s biggest oil field Sharara is “back to normal” after a disruption caused by protests in the politically fragmented country, the state National Oil said.
• Repsol SA pulled all foreign workers from its oil fields in Venezuela amid a deepening political crisis, while Chevron and Total SA have removed a small number of employees, said people with knowledge of the companies.
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