Oil prices drop on eve of OPEC meet

Oil prices fell on Friday as the market waited to see whether the OPEC producers cartel would decide at a weekend meeting in Cairo to slash its crude output.

Light sweet crude for delivery in January was down 1.39 dollars to 53.05 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

On London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for January dropped 71 cents to 52.42 dollars in morning trade.

OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri said ahead of Saturday's Cairo meeting that the oil market was "over-supplied" -- an indication that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may be considering a production cut to help support prices.

OPEC has watched oil prices collapse since striking record highs above 147 dollars 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 further, approaching the lowest levels for nearly four years on growing concern that a painful global recession could savage 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.

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 and New York crude touched 48.35 dollars, marking the lowest points for nearly four years.

That compared with their respective record high points of 147.50 and 147.27 dollars on July 11.

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