Brent, WTI each drop $1 per barrel on session

Crude oil prices were down again on Monday after Iran said that it would temporarily suspend its uranium enrichment program as progress was made in talks with the European Union.  Both sides said that several “misunderstandings” had been cleared up over the weekend, and Iran offered to suspend its nuclear activities for two months.

Also sending prices down was a report that the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries has decided to keep current production levels of around 28 million barrels per day even though some member nations, including Nigeria, expressed serious concerns about recent price declines.  One analyst said that OPEC would likely defend a lower limit of $50 per barrel.

Brent crude was $1 lower in London to $64.33 per barrel, 18 percent below record prices sent last month.  West Texas Intermediate crude was also down $1, to $65.25, by midday trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down almost 17 percent from its record high, which was reached in July.