Crude Dips as OPEC Waffles

Updated from 10:42 a.m. EST

Oil prices slipped below $63 a barrel Monday on expectations that cold weather blanketing the country will not last and that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will not trim production deep enough to prop up prices.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery shed 99 cents to settle at $62.44 a barrel on profit-taking and an increase in the U.S. dollar. On Friday, oil prices closed up 30 cents at $63.43 on the rising possibility that OPEC will again trim production at its next meeting this month.

Brimming domestic supplies and a weak U.S. dollar are some of the factors why OPEC is considering additional output cuts. The cartel prices crude in dollars and makes less money when the currency is low. This year, the dollar has lost over 10% against the euro as the U.S. economy weakened. On Friday, the dollar touched a 20-month low vs. the euro, which was recently trading at $1.3324 vs. $1.3336 late Friday. ...