Oil prices fall on doubts that producers can agree output restraint

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell away from five-week highs early on Wednesday, as analysts doubted a successful outcome from producer talks to rein in ballooning oversupply.

International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $48.85 per barrel at 0018 GMT, down 38 cents from their last settlement. Despite the dip, prices are still up over 17 percent since early August and remain not far off a five-week high of $49.36 a barrel reached the previous day.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $46.30 per barrel, down 28 cents from their last close, but are still up about 18 percent from early August.

 

Traders said that profit taking following the recent price rallies was weighing on prices, and there were also doubts that any producer talks to rein in on oversupply would be successful.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably revive talks on freezing oil output levels when it meets non-OPEC nations next month, OPEC sources told Reuters, citing Saudi Arabia's wish for higher prices.

"The rumour mill around producer cooperation has resumed, spurred by recent comments from Saudi Arabia's oil minister, allowing oil prices to gain," French bank BNP Paribas said.

Yet like many other oil analysts, BNP said it doubted a successful outcome.

"Given the dismal track record when it comes to recent producer cooperation, we are not holding our breath for an eventual freeze in output and even less so for a much-needed reduction in production to help re-balance the oil market."

The last time OPEC and other major producers like Russia met, in April, to discuss ways of reducing the production overhang, talks failed due to disagreement mainly between OPEC rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

An OPEC only meeting in June also failed to reach an agreement to limit production, and the group's output has since reached new records.

(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Richard Pullin)