Oil price dips below $62 a barrel

Opec members include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria

Oil prices have fallen below $62 a barrel after mixed signals over whether the Opec producers' cartel would cut output for a second time this year.

US crude eased 45 cents to $61.58 a barrel by 1550 GMT, while Brent crude slipped 13 cents to $62.07 a barrel.

The market is showing uncertainty over what to expect from Thursday's meeting of the 11 Opec cartel nations.

Kuwait's energy ministry said it would discuss a possible output cut of 500,000 barrels a day at the meeting.

However, al-Hayat newspaper has quoted Opec sources as saying the group would keep supply unchanged, according to Reuters news agency.

High inventories of oil have reduced the value at which it is traded.

Stocks held among the 30 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development were at 2.76 million barrels in September, their highest level in eight years, according to the International Energy Agency.

Warm US weather

Warmer-than-expected US weather has hit demand for heating oil, which has also depressed prices.

Oil prices have also been hit by the decline in the value of the US dollar, in which the commodity is priced and sold.

Oil prices fell from a peak of $78.40 a barrel in July to below $60 in October, and Opec members have been trying to underpin oil prices as a result.

The oil cartel curbed production by 1.2 million barrels a day in October.