Oil prices started June on a down note as analysts wait and see whether members of OPEC will announce plans to cut back on production.
Oil prices tumbled in late November when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, led tacitly by Saudi Arabia, kept production stable despite a market shifted heavily toward the supply side. Oil prices have recovered somewhat amid signs of increased demand, though global economic growth has been tepid.
The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday real gross domestic product decreased at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of the year. Real GDP increased 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
The price for Brent, the global benchmark, fell 1 percent in early Monday trading to drift just below the $65 per barrel mark. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. standard, struggled to hold $60 early in the trading session, selling for around $59.80 per barrel.
OPEC, whose oil accounts for 40 percent of the global supply, in November said it needed to keep output steady to protect its market share at a time when U.S. oil production from shale was booming. Mark Pervan, head of commodities at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, told The Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald that OPEC was largely expected to stand pat.
"I'd be surprised if they do move on supply," he said Monday. "Their concern right now is of losing market share and the last thing they want to do is pull back on supply unless prices come under control."
The 12 members of OPEC meet Friday in Vienna.
