Oil prices ease off four-month high

Oil prices eased off four-month highs on Monday as doubts over oil producers reaching a meaningful output cut deal brought some speculators to unwind bullish bets.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 23 cents at $51.70 a barrel at 0848 GMT, more than 2.0 per cent lower than the four-month high reached on Friday.

US futures CLc1 also retreated from last week`s highs, and were last down 30 cents at $49.51 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) plans to agree on an output cut by the time it meets in late November.

The goal is to cut production to a range of 32.50 million barrels per day (bpd) to 33.0 million bpd.

OPEC`s current output PRODN-TOTAL stands at a record 33.6 million bpd.

Saudi Arabia`s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday that OPEC should not cut oil supply too steeply, already hinting at milder market intervention.

Analysts at ABN Amro took a cautious view on an OPEC deal, saying previous hints by the group at output cuts have always failed to have been followed up by action.

OPEC members Iran and Iraq are also not attending this week`s Istanbul meetings, according to a news agency report.