Oversupply of crude oil may lead to price cut

CRUDE oil may fall next week as rising production from OPEC helps replenish global inventories, according to a Bloomberg News survey of traders and analysts.

Oil, now close to $45 a barrel in New York, may not stay above $40 for long because consumers are “well supplied,’ the International Energy Agency said yesterday. World output in August exceeded this quarter’s expected demand by 2.6%. Supplies in the 30-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development rose 18 million barrels in July to 2.58 billion.

“There’s an oversupply of crude oil,’ said Anthony Nunan, manager for international petroleum business at Mitsubishi Corp. in Tokyo.