Investing.com - Crude futures moved lower on Tuesday as markets bet that the OPEC oil cartel will leave output unchanged at an upcoming meeting despite months of steady losses due to ongoing supply concerns.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for delivery in January traded down 1.28% at $74.69 a barrel during U.S. trading, up from a session low of $74.30 a barrel and off a high of $76.43 a barrel.
The January contract settled down 0.21% at $75.66 a barrel on Monday.
Support for the commodity was seen at $73.22 a barrel, Friday's low, and resistance at $79.80 a barrel, the high from Nov. 10.
Concerns over weakening global demand combined with indications that OPEC producers will not cut output have weighed on prices in recent months and continued to do so on Tuesday.
Oil ministers from Iran, Libya, Venezuela, Ecuador and Algeria have asked for action to prevent further price declines, while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have resisted calls to lower production.
Markets are speculating that a Saudi-backed willingness to let prices slide will prompt U.S. shale producers to halt operations as a result, as such production costs more than traditional drilling.
Once U.S. shale producers table their operations for profitability reason, prices would presumably rise as the global economy absorbs excess supply.
The 12-member oil cartel is scheduled to meet in Vienna on Nov. 27 to discuss whether to adjust their production target for 2015.
Meanwhile, oil traders awaited the release of fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles fell by 1.2 million barrels in the week ended November 14.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for January delivery were down 0.88% at US$78.62 a barrel, while the spread between Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $3.93.