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Oil prices drop as investors wait for OPEC+ production decision

Early trading on Friday saw oil prices fall for the third day in a row as investors waited for an OPEC+ summit this weekend, which will discuss further production increases.

Brent crude futures dropped 23 cents or 0.3% to $66.77 per barrel at 0012 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 19 cents or 0.3% to $63.29.

Two sources with knowledge of the discussions said that eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, will discuss the possibility of raising production at a Sunday meeting in October.

OPEC+ would also be able to start unwinding a second layer, around 1.65 million barrels of oil per day or 1.6% of global demand, a full year earlier than planned.

The U.S. crude stockpile posted a surprising build of 2.4m barrels in the last week, as refineries prepared for maintenance season. In a survey, analysts had predicted a 2-million barrel draw, but the American Petroleum Institute said that stocks increased by 600,000 barrels.

A White House official confirmed that U.S. president Donald Trump had told European leaders Thursday to stop buying Russian crude oil.

If Russia cuts its crude oil exports, it could increase the price of global oil. (Reporting and editing by Georgina McCartney, Arathy S. Somasekhar)

(source: Reuters)