Oil prices slightly lower after inventories data

Oil prices were slightly lower at early afternoon in New York on Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported that inventories of crude oil had increased in the week ending March 9, while gasoline and distillates inventories were lower on the week. West Texas Intermediate April contracts were 29 cents lower to $57.64 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Meanwhile, April deliveries of Brent crude fell 9 cents to $60.81 per barrel in London.

Elsewhere, as oil ministers from OPEC member nations gathered to for a meeting in Vienna, several officials said that they are pleased with the present price of oil and do not believe that the cartel should raise production levels. They said that current compliance with production cuts announced earlier is at about 70 percent. They hold the opinion that production should not be upped despite the fact that some analysts worry that the high price of oil could be hurting the global economy and in the face of a recent report from the International Energy Agency that upcoming demand will require more supply from OPEC member nations.