Reply #3: Oil prices fall below 19-month lows

[ozymandius]

VIENNA, Austria - Oil prices edged lower Wednesday, below 19-month closing lows the day before, holding on to the momentum they took from comments by Saudi Arabia's oil minister that further OPEC productions cuts were not needed right away.

Forecasts of ample stocks added to the downward pull, with U.S. inventory figures, to be released Thursday, expected to show builds across the board — crude, gasoline and distillates, such as diesel and heating oil.

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OPEC has committed to a total cut in output of 1.7 million barrels per day, including a 500,000 barrel-a-day reduction set to begin Feb. 1.

But compliance is believed to be halfhearted. According to Dow Jones Newswires, independent surveys suggest OPEC has cut output by little more than half of its pledged levels. Production remains near 27 million barrels a day or about 700,000 barrels a day above OPEC's target.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices