Oil prices slip 2% ahead of OPEC meeting

Oil prices fell nearly two percent on Wednesday amid rising US crude inventories, and ahead of tomorrow's crucial OPEC meeting.

International benchmark Brent crude slipped $1.16, or 1.9 percent, to $60.92 a barrel early on Wednesday, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 94 cents, or 1.8 percent, to reach $52.31 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)  along with non-OPEC member Russia are expected to announce production cuts to support oil prices at their Dec.6 meeting. However, Qatar energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi said on Monday announced plans to withdraw from OPEC in January 2019.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said in its weekly report that said US crude inventories rose by 5.4 million barrels in the week to Nov. 30, to 448 million barrels.

"In recent weeks oil has suffered severely from global economic health concerns stemming from trade tensions leading to lower demand for oil, and if there is further progression with this issue it would be seen as a potential 'buy' for oil," Jameel Ahmad, Global Head of Currency Strategy & Market Research at FXTM, said in a recent client note.