OPEC May Meet in Kuwait Jan. 19 to Consider More Cuts

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC may meet in Kuwait City on Jan. 19 to discuss further production cuts, according to Chakib Khelil, the president of the group.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will continue reducing output as demand falls, Khelil said in an interview today.

“We don’t see the bottom yet for the demand,” he said at the London Energy Meeting, which included representatives from 27 nations. “We will keep lowering supply until we meet the equilibrium.”

The potential “special” meeting, which may coincide with a meeting of Middle East heads of state, could allow oil producers to share views of the market after the cartel, which pumps 40 percent of the world’s oil, agreed on Dec. 17 to cut output by 2.46 million barrels a day starting on Jan. 1. Prices have slumped 37 percent this month.

Crude oil for January delivery fell 76 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $35.46 a barrel at 10:51 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $33.44, the lowest since April 2004. The January contract expires today. The more-active February contract rose 72 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $42.39.