OPEC officials endorsed a document outlining their long-term strategy on Monday, in a sign that members are reaching a consensus on output management.
However, analysts said the progress made by OPEC so far is minimal, fanning market concerns that the group may fail to implement a planned output cut as countries including Iran and Iraq oppose such a move.
Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said last week that his country, OPEC's second largest producer, wants to be exempted from any output cut as it needs more money to fight the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
OPEC agreed last week to reduce its oil output to 32.5 million barrels per day from the current level of 33.24 million barrels per day to shore up the market.
The oil cartel will decide on concrete production levels for each member at its formal meeting in Vienna later this month.
The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for December delivery, lost 1.84 U.S. dollars to settle at 46.86 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Meanwhile, Brent crude for December delivery, the global benchmark, decreased 1.41 dollars to close at 48.30 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, Xinhua reported. (UU.A026)
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