Oil prices fell slightly on Wednesday amid investor doubts that OPEC will agree to a production cut large enough to make a significant dent in the global glut of crude as U.S. drilling rises, Reuters reported.Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet next week on Nov. 30 in Vienna to decide on the details of an agreement to cut output that the group has been trying to hammer out since September.
Oil prices fluctuated throughout the day, starting lower in the morning and later briefly turning positive after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly fell 1.3 million barrels last week after three straight weeks of builds. Reports that U.S. drillers added rigs this week tempered the gains ahead of the settlement.
In the U.S. market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 settled down 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $47.96 a barrel.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled down 17 cents, or 0.35 percent at $48.95 a barrel.