Oil prices retreat on profit taking

Oil prices dropped Friday as traders took profits although lawmakers in Washington are close to an agreement that would allow a short-term debt ceiling raise. U.S. President Barack Obama has reached out to Republican leaders in an effort to solve the fiscal deadlock. Obama met with House Republicans Thursday in a one-and-a-half-hour meeting led by House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Although no decision was made at the meeting on how to end the government shutdown or raise the nation's debt limit, this is the first serious talk between Obama and the Republicans during this fiscal battle. And both sides kept negotiating to break the impasse. Oil prices also fell as the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) predicated that non-OPEC supply growth would approach a record high in 2014. The non-OPEC supply growth for 2013 is forecast to average 1.1 million barrels per day to 54.7 million barrels per day, and rising to a near-record 1.7 million barrels per day next year, the IEA monthly oil market report showed. The agency trimmed its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2014. World oil consumption will increase by 1.1 million barrels to 92 million barrels a day. The expansion in consumption is about 100,000 barrels a day less than the IEA forecast last month. Light, sweet crude for November delivery decreased 96 cents to settle at 102.02 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery lost 52 cents to close at 111.28 dollars a barrel.