Oil is getting whacked after report says OPEC might boost production

Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih talks to journalists at the beginning of an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria, November 30, 2017.

• Oil was down more than 2% Friday morning.
• Reuters reports that OPEC is considering easing supply cuts.
• Follow oil prices in real time here.

Oil dropped more than 2% early Friday after reports suggested OPEC and other supply-cutting countries led by Russia could begin easing output caps.

West Texas Intermediate was down 2.19% to $69.12 per barrel at 8:15 a.m. ET. Brent, the international benchmark, shed 2.22% to $77.06 a barrel. Last week, Brent had topped $80 for the first time since 2014.

Reuters reported overnight that the groups are discussing gradually raising output by around a million barrels per day. The consideration comes after President Donald Trump complained about rising oil prices, a factor that reportedly led OPEC to rethink supply cuts.

"Looks like OPEC is at it again," the president wrote. "With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea, Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!"

The cartel began announced supply cut in 2016 in an effort to tackle a global glut.

WTI is up 44.6% this year.

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