Oil prices dip on poor Japanese data, OPEC skepticism
Oil prices dipped Monday on news that Japan slipped back into recession.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices dipped Monday on news that Japan slipped back into recession and skepticism that OPEC will reach a deal to cut output.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for December delivery shed 18 cents to $75.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
European benchmark Brent oil for January delivery slipped 10 cents to $79.31 a barrel in London.
Confidence in the Japanese recovery took a hit when official data showed that gross domestic product for the world s third largest economy shrank 0.4 percent in the third quarter.
That decline followed a revised 1.9 percent contraction in the April-June quarter.
"With Japan falling back into a surprising recession, the whole Asian area comes under pressure," said Carl Larry, director of oil and gas for Frost & Sullivan.
"This will add to OPEC s dilemma as it heads into its last meeting of the year."
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to meet in Vienna on November 27. Despite a drop of more than 25 percent in oil prices since June, the cartel has been divided on whether to take action.
Venezuela and Ecuador have called publicly for a cut, but key member Saudi Arabia has so far signaled resistance.
"There looks to have been some pickup in OPEC background discussions ahead of the group s November 27 summit," said Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures.
"But the market remains skeptical that any effective action will be taken to spark a recovery in prices."
