Oil prices held steady as traders kept a lookout for fresh signals of an output cut from OPEC. Light sweet crude for November delivery stood at US$60 a barrel in midmorning Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
After peaking at US$78.40 in mid-July, oil prices have been steadily dipping due to rising worldwide inventories and concerns about slower economic growth, and apprehensions about the mild Atlantic hurricane season. Over the weekend, reports indicated a 1 million bpd reduction in output to stem a 24% decline in prices. The cut, when it happens, will be OPEC's first time in nearly two years. The last time OPEC trimmed its output by 1 million bpd, was in December 2004 when oil traded slightly above US$40 a barrel. OPEC is not scheduled to meet until December, though there is talk of a possible emergency meeting before then.
10-Oct-06 
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