New York — Oil prices fell 1% on Tuesday, with US crude breaking below $50 per barrel for a second straight day ahead of weekly data that could show a build in domestic inventories. A rallying dollar and falling share prices on Wall Street weighed further on crude oil futures. Analysts said verbal jockeying among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) created uncertainty about potential output cuts at its meeting next month, noting that a particular worry was Iraq’s exclusion from the plan. Brent crude futures were down 78 cents, or 1.5%, at $50.68 a barrel by 3.04pm GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 65 cents, or 1.3%, to $49.87. Trade group American Petroleum Institute will issue at 8.30pm GMT a weekly report of crude stockpiles and other oil supply-demand data, ahead of an official report by the US government’s Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters expected the data would show crude stocks rose 800,0...
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