Oil halts rally above $50 as Iraq signals break from Opec cuts

Oil halted its advance near $50 a barrel as Iraq threatened to derail Opec’s plan to stabilise crude markets by saying it should be exempt from planned output cuts.

Prices slid as much as 0.9 per cent in New York after rising 0.4 per cent on Friday. Iraq should be exempted from trimming production because it’s embroiled in a war with Islamic militants, Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said Sunday at a news conference in Baghdad. Rigs targeting crude in the US rose for an eighth week to the highest level since February, according to Baker Hughes.

Oil has fluctuated near $50 a barrel amid uncertainty about whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) can implement an accord to reduce oil output when they gather at an official meeting in November. A committee will meet later this month to try to resolve differences over how much individual members should pump. “The mindset of the market at this stage is to wait for the actual outcome of the November meeting,” said Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “