NEW YORK, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices settled mixed on Thursday as traders remained cautious ahead of a key meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) next week.
OPEC and other big producers will meet on June 22-23 in Vienna to discuss production and are widely expected to agree on higher output. In 2017, OPEC and other big producers began supply cuts of 1.8 million barrels per day to support the market.
Analysts said that with Brent prices up by around 180 percent from their 2016 low, global crude inventories falling, Venezuelan production plummeting and imminent sanctions against Iran, the group may soon end their supply cuts.
Oil supply concerns also weighed on the market. U.S. crude output has risen almost 30 percent in the last two years to a record high of 10.9 million barrels per day last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery rose 0.25 U.S. dollar to settle at 66.89 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery fell 0.80 dollar to 75.94 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem
