Crude-oil futures closed lower on Monday amid worries that the expected production cuts from OPEC may not be enough to lift oil prices as the economic recession hurts fuel demand.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell 1.77 dollars, or 3.8 percent, to settle at 44.51 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile.
The price touched a session high of 50.05 dollars a barrel in early trading as OPEC, the oil cartel which produces 40 percent of world oil, is widely expected to agree on a hefty cut in member nations' quotas at its meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Oran, Algeria.
The prices retreated in late New York trading after a report showed U.S. industrial output fell in November. The Federal Reserve reported on Monday that industrial activity dropped by 0.6percent in November, slightly smaller than a drop of 0.8 percent expected by analysts.
The capacity utilization rate for total industry fell to 75.4 percent in November, 5.6 percentage points below its average level from 1972 to 2007, the Fed said.
OPEC Secretary-general Abdalla Salem El-Badri on Monday said the cartel needs to approve a "very sizeable cut" at its meeting later this week. He also said OPEC would like to see a big cut from non-OPEC countries such as Russia.
Oil stocks are very high and the market has about 100 million barrels oversupply, El-Badri said. The value of OPEC's basket of 13 crude oils fell 1.75 dollars to 39.02 dollars a barrel last week, OPEC reported on Monday.
Source: Xinhua
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