Oil prices fell Friday as OPEC’s key producers cast doubt on the need to cut output, denting hopes of a deal to tackle a global supply glut.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh on Friday said his country wanted its pre-sanctions share of the crude market.
His comments followed a warning by Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih regarding the success of a gathering in Algeria next month on world output levels.
Around 1230 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October was down 18 cents at $47.15 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery lost 32 cents to $49.35 a barrel compared with the close on Thursday.
Oil prices had rallied last week and entered a bull market — a 20-percent rise from recent lows — after OPEC and Russia announced plans to discuss the supply crisis, which has hammered the crude market for more than two years.
But prices have taken a beating this week on concerns about prospects for success at the September meeting in Algiers.
