Oil prices fell on Friday as Saudi Arabia was said to dismiss the prospects for a market support deal from OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) next week.

Saudi Arabia expects a meeting of key producers to be a chance to consult rather than take a decision on output levels, an OPEC delegate familiar with the nation' s oil policies said on Friday, according to local media.

OPEC members and Russia are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26 to 28.

It has been widely expected that the world major oil producers may reach an output-cut deal during the meeting to stabilize the market.

In the previous two sessions, the oil prices were supported by declining U.S. inventories.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report on Wednesday that U.S. oil inventories fell by 6.2 million barrels last week, beating market consensus of a 3.4-million barrels decrease.

The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery lost 1.84 U.S. dollars to settle at 44.48 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery erased 1.76 U.S. dollars to close at 45.89 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Source : XINHUA