Oil prices were mixed in the Asian trade today, suppressed by OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia’s plan to raise output to Asia despite the cartel’s decision to keep oil production steady, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, lost nine cents to $99.20 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July rose 13 cents to $118.91.
“Oil is pulling back and primarily reacting to expectations that Saudi Arabia will raise output and supply more oil to Asia,” said Mr Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst at Purvin and Gertz international energy consultancy.
The 12-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna last Wednesday failed to agree on raising oil production to aid a faltering global economy stumped by high oil prices.
Riyadh’s push for higher production to moderate price increases was rebuffed by Iran and its allies, who successfully lobbied the cartel to keep the production levels steady at 24.84 million barrels per day, a level that has stood since January 2009.
The market was debating whether members of OPEC —— which controls about 40 per cent of global output —— would hold to the quota, especially crude giant Saudi Arabia.