Investing.com - Oil prices extended losses from the prior session in Europe trade on Wednesday, as OPEC members travel to Tehran in an attempt to convince Iran to join an oil production freeze deal.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino and Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi were to travel to Tehran for talks with their Iranian counterpart Bijan Zanganeh scheduled for 10:30GMT, or 5:30AM ET, in a bid to reach a deal to restrain output and prop up sagging prices.
Iran signaled that it would take a tough line in talks among oil producers on restraining production, saying it would continue increasing its output until it reached levels seen before international sanctions were imposed.
Crude prices sold off in volatile trade on Tuesday after a meeting between oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela ended with consensus to freeze output, but said the deal was contingent on other producers joining in, disappointing investors who were hoping for a coordinated supply cut.
Oil futures are down nearly 70% since the summer of 2014. Global crude production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil and after a decision by OPEC last year not to cut production in order to defend market share.
Crude oil for delivery in March on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 19 cents, or 0.64%, to trade at $28.84 a barrel by 07:55GMT, or 2:55AM ET. A day earlier, Nymex futures lost 40 cents, or 1.36%.
Market players looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Thursday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 3.9 million barrels in the week ended February 12. The reports come out one day later than usual due to Monday’s public holiday in the U.S.
U.S. oil prices are down nearly 24% so far this year. Futures slumped to a 13-year low of $26.05 last Thursday, as record crude inventories at the Cushing delivery hub underlined concerns over a supply glut.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for April delivery dipped 21 cents, or 0.65%, to trade at $31.97 a barrel. On Tuesday, London-traded Brent futures dropped $1.21, or 3.62%.
Brent prices are down almost 15% in 2016 as investors worried that a huge oversupply in crude was coinciding with a global economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, Brent's premium to the West Texas Intermediate crude contract stood at $3.13 a barrel, compared to a gap of $3.14 by close of trade on Tuesday.