OPEC said to be ready to cut actual output

Crude oil prices were mixed on Monday ahead of an emergency OPEC meeting scheduled for later in the week in Qatar. It is expected that an announcement of a production cut of 1 million barrels per day will come out of the meeting, and that the cut will be made from actual production rather than from the official quota of 28 million barrels per day.

Several OPEC member nations, including Iran, Indonesia, and Venezuela are said not to be happy with the decision and instead want the cuts to come from the quota instead. This is apparently because those nations are already pumping below quota and do not wish to lose market share by having to cut their actual output.

Brent crude for November delivery was 14 cents lower to $59.38 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude November contracts were up, but just by 3 cents to $58.61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.