By Jon E. Dougherty at 8:05 am Eastern (Newsroom America) -- Oil prices fell to near $98 a barrel on Wednesday as oil cartel OPEC considered boosting production at a meeting in Vienna. By afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for July delivery fell 90 cents to $98.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose slightly to settle at $99.09 Tuesday. In London, meanwhile, Brent crude for July delivery was down 66 cents to $116.12 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Reports said investors will closely watch for any decisions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to boost production. OPEC accounts for about 40 percent of the world's output. Members of OPEC are split over whether to increase output. Saudi Arabia has suggested boosting production to lower the price of oil to between $70 and $80 a barrel, a level it says will help stabilize the global economy. Higher oil and gasoline prices in the U.S. are being blamed for stunting economic and jobs growth, as well as lowering consumer confidence and leading to dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama. Oil and gasoline stocks in the U.S. have fallen surprisingly over the past week, leading to a floor on prices. © 2010 Newsroom America.

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