New York — Oil prices slipped further below $50 a barrel on Tuesday on concerns that an Opec effort to tighten the market could be coming under pressure from a diplomatic rift in the Middle East and from sustained high inventories in the United States. Leading Arab powers including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of support for Islamist militants and Iran. Surplus oil in many parts of the world and developments with Qatar had traders nervous, even after Kuwait Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said Qatar remained committed to restricting crude output under an agreement between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and several non-Opec suppliers. "Production growth outside of the areas that have agreed to cut, is still the dominant theme in the market," said Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. He pointed to high levels of crude production in the US, the ...
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