Brent Crude Trades Below $100 as OPEC Maintains Output Target

Brent crude traded below $100 a barrel for the first time in a month and WTI declined amid speculation that stockpiles will climb after OPEC kept its production target unchanged.

Brent, used to price more than half the world’s oil, was little changed after falling as much as 0.6 percent to $99.75 a barrel. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries maintained its output ceiling of 30 million barrels a day at a meeting in Vienna on May 31. Crude inventories in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of the commodity, increased to 398 million barrels in the week ended May 24, the most since at least 1931, a government report showed May 30.

Brent oil for July settlement was at $100.26 a barrel, down 13 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 1:09 p.m. Singapore time. It earlier declined as much as 64 cents to trade below $100 for the first time since May 2. Prices slid 2.2 percent last week and 1.9 percent in May.

WTI for July delivery was at $91.80 a barrel, down 17 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped 2.3 percent last week and 1.6 percent in May. Brent was at a premium of $8.46 to WTI futures. It ended the session at $8.42 on May 31, narrowing for a second day.