Oil has slipped close to levels last seen during the financial crisis ahead of Opec’s meeting this week, with little sign the cartel will reverse its policy of maximising production to squeeze higher-cost rival producers.

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, fell 3.2 per cent to $43.04 a barrel yesterday, not far above the six-year low of $42.23 a barrel hit in August.

US crude oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 3.3 per cent to $40.46 after the US government reported that it had bulging stocks of petroleum.

A year on from the group’s landmark Saudi-led decision to open the taps, global oil markets have been swamped by near-record oversupply, leading hedge funds to amass one of their largest positions betting on further price falls. – (PA)