Oil prices fell to their lowest level in nearly four weeks on Monday after OPEC said they may keep production unchanged through the rest of the winter.
US crude futures dropped $1.20 to $45.28 a barrel on the NYMEX, the lowest since January 12. London Brent crude fell 79 cents to $43.10 on the IPE.
Oil prices extended its setback since OPEC's last meeting on January 31 at which members agreed to hold their production steady but left open the door to possible snap cuts to be agreed by telephone.
At the weekend, two Opec producers indicated that prices hovering well above US$40 a barrel looked likely to stave off any decision to slash output at least until the cartel's next official meeting on March 16.
The prospect of steady output from the cartel until spring could mean continued increases in fuel stockpiles in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, where unseasonably mild weather is already cooling demand for heating oil.
"We will wait until March (for any output decision), " Algeria's Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said on Saturday
