Crude Oil Edges Down as Eyes Fixed on OPEC Meeting

LONDON--Crude oil prices were marginally down on Thursday as all the market's attention remains focused on whether next week's meeting of the world oil cartel will halt a slump.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on Nov. 27 and investors are seeking guidance on whether production will be reduced to prop up prices that have fallen more than 30% since June.

"No OPEC meeting for a long time has been preceded by such amounts of speculation and conspiracy theories as next Thursday's gathering in Vienna," JBC Energy analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Central to the intrigue is why Saudi Arabia hasn't yet intervened to support falling oil prices, and whether it or any of its OPEC partners will do so in the coming months.

"Depending on which survey one reads, OPEC produced between 30.25 million and 31 million barrels a day in October," notes Commerzbank analysts. But the International Energy Agency and OPEC estimate that the need for oil from the group is only 29.2 million barrels a day.

A small change would therefore "not be sufficient to halt the slump in oil prices," Commerzbank said.

"OPEC will probably see itself forced at a later date to agree on a more drastic production cut that better reflects the lower [demand for its oil]," they said.

Brent crude for January delivery was down 18 cents at $77.92 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. WTI for December was down 16 cents at $74.42 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

ICE gasoil for December changed hands at $690.50 a metric ton, down $7.00. Gasoline for January delivery was down 156 points to $2.0064 a gallon.

Access Investor Kit for Dominion Resources, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US25746U1097

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires