Oil prices have been falling all week, and they continue to show weakness today on increased speculation that OPEC is going to raise its output quotas at next week's meeting. Prices have fallen five percent since early Monday morning.The rumors floating around OPEC began over the weekend when Iran's oil minister said his country would be willing to lift its output. Today we get another hint of a possible increase as the president of OPEC, Mohamed Al Hamli, said the oil cartel was ready to pump more oil into the market, but made sure to hedge himself by saying that there were no definite plans to do so just yet.
According to Hamli, "There's nothing on the agenda, (but) we are willing to supply more to the market." This was enough to push prices down under the $94 mark, with prices trading as low as $93.72, before bouncing back a bit. to trade flat on the day.
It is still unclear what we can expect next week when the oil cartel meets to discuss the situation, but you can be sure that today's inventory report from the U.S. Energy Department will be closely watched. We will get that report later this morning, and will see just how the supply situation currently is in America.
Analysts are looking for the report to show a drop of 400,000 barrels. Once the report is published, BloggingStocks will be sure to update you on the figures and market reaction.
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.
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