OPEC Members Fight for Market Shares, Say No to Production Cuts

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has no plans to hold an emergency meeting amid falling oil prices, according to a delegate from the group.

Crude prices have dropped almost 50 percent from a June peak as OPEC refused to cut production and U.S. output reached a three-decade high.

OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s crude, pumped 30.9 million a day in January, exceeding its target for an eighth straight month, according to production estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The Energy Information Administration forecast that U.S. output will increase to 9.3 million barrels a day this year, the most since 1972. Crude stockpiles rose to 425.6 million barrels as of Feb. 13, the most in EIA weekly data beginning 1982.