See-saw oil prices slumped again today after Russia delayed a decision on whether to join the OPEC cartel in a global oil supply reduction next year.
Having risen over a dollar per barrel yesterday on expectations of a major supply cut by Russia, futures for North Sea Brent Blend fell $1.00, or five per cent, to $18.90 per barrel by early afternoon in London.
A Russian official said the government wanted more talks next month before deciding whether to meet demands by the powerful OPEC cartel of a big contribution to global supply cuts from January 1st.
After a meeting with private oil companies in Moscow, the official also said Russia would trim output by just 0.7 per cent, or 50,000 barrels per day (bpd), in the fourth quarter of this year, although only deliveries for December are left.
"Russia is throwing OPEC scraps and OPEC is looking for scraps to justify the cuts it will have to make in January," said Mr Leo Drollas of London's Centre for Global Energy Studies.
Oil producers are struggling to respond to a slowdown in demand for petroleum, and OPEC's 11 members agreed last week that further curbs were conditional on substantial cuts by rival exporters including Russia.
Analysts believe Moscow needs to agree a 200,000 bpd reduction from January 1st for a deal to go ahead.
Norway, a non-OPEC producer which is also planning to join the cuts next year, welcomed Russia's announcement to trim output in the fourth quarter.