The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Friday
blamed speculation as the main cause of a decline in oil prices,
which have fallen to levels not seen since 2010.
In its bimonthly bulletin, OPEC said that according to its
secretariat, "the actions of speculators are again behind much of
the price decline." It said speculators had reduced their net long
positions by nearly half in August and said the same players had
been behind a sharp increase in prices in June.
OPEC's views are its first public comments since the price for
its crudes and for the Brent benchmark this week fell to levels not
seen since 2010, and raise questions over whether the oil-producer
group will cut output when it meets Nov 27.
Its members have so far reacted without coordination, cutting
prices in Asia and increasing output as they compete for the
growing Asian market.
On Friday, the average price of OPEC's crudes basket, along with
the Brent oil benchmark, dropped to their lowest price since
December 2010.
Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com
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