Oil Prices Fluctuate on Oversupply Worries

Oil prices were highly volatile on Thursday as commodity investors and traders' focus turned to an upcoming meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producing nations. According to

The Wall Street Journal, a dozen countries have confirmed their attendance for an April 17 meeting to discuss an output freeze and other options to boost oil prices. The publication quoted Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammed Saleh al-Sada as saying on Thursday that "an agreement to cap production is urgently needed. However, there remains serious doubt that any action will be taken to support the struggling commodity. Iran has declined to attend the meeting as the country is focused on increasing its output and regaining lost market share following years of international sanctions. Meanwhile, Kuwait said it will restart production at a joint facility with Saudi Arabia that can add 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil to the already over supplied market. Also adding to concerns is the fact that U.S. oil stockpiles are at their highest level in more than 80 years.

May 2016 Crude Oil

was trading at $38.50 per contract ahead of Thursday's equity market open. The commodity traded as low as $37.57 earlier in the morning.

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