SINGAPORE -- Oil prices fell to near $98 a barrel Wednesday in Asia amid signs OPEC may raise its crude production quotas at a meeting in Vienna.
Benchmark oil for July delivery was down 69 cents to $98.40 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 8 cents to settle at $99.09 on Tuesday.
In London, Brent crude for July delivery was down 49 cents to $116.29 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Investors will be closely watching the outcome of a meeting later Wednesday of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a cartel that controls about 40 percent of global crude output.
OPEC leaders have been split this week over whether they should raise production. Saudi Arabia, the group's biggest supplier, has supported a price between $70 and $80 while Iran, the second-largest producer in OPEC, is against any output hike.
