Oil prices drop as focus switches to OPEC

Oil prices fell on Thursday as the market geared up for a weekend meeting of OPEC in Cairo where the crude producers' cartel may decide against slashing output.

On London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January dropped 92 cents to 53 dollars a barrel in morning trade.

Light sweet crude for January slid 1.01 dollars to 53.43 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has watched oil prices collapse since striking record highs above 147 dollars per barrel in July, sparking serious concern among its members about plunging revenues.

OPEC ministers agreed in Vienna last month to reduce production by 1.5 million barrels a day from November 1 as they sought to defend tumbling prices.

But the market has since crumbled, approaching the lowest levels for nearly four years on growing concern that a painful global recession could ravage demand for energy, traders said.

The OPEC cartel, which pumps 40 percent of the world's oil, called the extraordinary meeting in Cairo two weeks ago as prices descended towards 50 dollars per barrel.

However ahead of the meeting OPEC President Chakib Khelil has downplayed the idea of an output cut being announced in the Egyptian capital.

The cartel may wait until a scheduled policy meeting due in Algeria on December 17 before announcing any change to output, according to traders.

Last week, Brent North Sea oil plunged to 47.40 dollars per barrel and New York crude touched 48.35 dollars per barrel, marking the lowest points for nearly four years.

That compared with their respective record high points of 147.50 and 147.27 dollars per barrel, forged on July 11 on fears of supply disruptions.

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