WTI, Brent prices drop ahead of OPEC meeting

The price of crude oil dropped Friday ahead of Sunday’s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries amid uncertainty about the decision the cartel will take concerning production quotas.

West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down 96 cents to $46.07 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude dropped 59 cents to trade at $44.50 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

There have been conflicting signals concerning whether OPEC will cut production quotas again or concentrate on complying with already-announced cuts, and there has been some speculation that non-OPEC member and significant oil producer Russia could decide to cut production in concert with the cartel.

Nymex April gasoline futures were up 2 cents to $1.37 per gallon while May contracts for heating oil were down 3 cents to $1.21 per gallon and April natural gas dropped 7 cents to $3.93 per million British thermal units.

May copper was up 4 cents to $1.66 per pound at the close of floor trade in New York, while three-month copper added $90 to $3,670 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange as prices were sent higher by declines in stockpiles in London Metal Exchange warehouses as well as in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

In addition, Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE BCS; TYO: 8642) predicted that copper prices will rise to an average of $4,200 per tonne in the second quarter, up from an average around $3,380 per tonne so far this quarter.

Precious metals prices were also higher as April gold added $6.10 to $930.10 per troy ounce, May silver was up 27 cents to $13.22 per troy ounce, and April platinum gained $12.10 to $1,063.50.

Prices for grains on the Chicago Board of Trade were lower, at least for March contracts as March corn was down 1 cent to $3.75 per bushel, but later contracts saw gains.

CBOT March wheat fell 8 cents to $5.06 per bushel while March soybeans dropped 16 cents to $8.82 per bushel.

Story link: WTI, Brent prices drop ahead of OPEC meeting