Oil deal on supply cut seen unlikely The price of Brent crude fell as the chances of Opec members reaching agreement on output cuts in Thursday's meeting looked increasingly remote. Ice January Brent fell $1.27 to $76.48 a barrel - a four-year low - while Nymex West Texas Intermediate was off $1 at $72.69. The Vienna meeting will be the most crucial since the the financial crisis, with the price of oil having slumped by more than 30 per cent since mid June. If it opts not to cut production, prices could fall further still, analysts warned. "I think some parts of the market have been pricing in the chance of a cut, so if there is no cut, presumably prices will fall [further]," said Robin Mills, head of consulting at Dubai-based Manaar Energy. Relentless US production and Opec supplies ahead of targets have coincided with a slowdown in demand in China and Europe, creating a surplus that has driven the price lower. On the morning of the Thursday meeting, some ministers were more vocal than others. Rafael Ramírez, Venezuela's Opec representative and foreign minister, said cuts were needed as the market was oversupplied by 2m barrels. Everyone is conscious the price is too low. Too low for everyone. For the consumer, for the producer, for the investor," said Mr Ramirez. Ali al-Naimi, the oil minister of Saudi Arabia, which is the cartel's leader and largest producer, refused to speak with journalists at all. José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, minister of petroleum for Angola was also concerned about oversupply said that $81 a barrel was a "fair price" Youcef Yousfi, minister of energy for Algeria said: "We are not happy with present level of prices." When asked if the country would cut production to balance the market he replied: "of course." On Wednesday, Mr al-Naimi had said that he expected the oil market "to stabilise itself eventually." Ali al-Naimi's remarks followed talks with non-Opec members Russia and Mexico that failed to produce any pledges to prune the global oil glut. Figures from the IEA, the wealthy nation's energy watchdog, suggest if October's 30.6m b/d level of Opec production continues into next year, global supply will exceed demand by 1m-1.5m b/d Mr Naimi said late on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf producers - the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar - had come to a consensus ahead of the meeting. Although it was unclear whether this meant sticking with Opec's current 30m barrels a day output targets or calling for a reduction, comments from other ministers earlier in the day suggested the latter is less likely. Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, UAE oil minister, said that the market would "fix" prices. There is nothing that should cause us to panic," said the minister, thought to have the closest views to Saudi Arabia. Yes, there is an oversupply but that oversupply is not an Opec problem. But the market will fix it. He added that non-Opec countries and new high-cost production - such as oil from US shale fields that has accelerated in recent years - should now play a role in balancing the market. Meanwhile, Ali Saleh al-Omair, Kuwait's oil minister, said the Gulf nation would "live" with the market price of oil whether "it is $60, $80 or $100 a barrel." Michael Wittner, analyst at Société Générale, said Mr Naimi's comments were a clear sign that Saudi Arabia and its fellow cartel members would rollover current output targets. "At this point, we take the Saudi statements at face value," he said. Mr Mills said any cut in production would need to be substantial in order to avert falling prices. A 1m b/d cut "would require serious commitment from the Saudis and some back-up from the UAE and Kuwait. I can't see anyone else credibly offering to cut more than a token amount.