Oil prices erase earlier gains

Global oil prices fell today, reversing earlier gains, as some traders took profits and continued to fret over the stubborn global supply glut.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November sank 88 cents to stand at USD 51.78 per barrel in late afternoon London deals.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November slid USD 1.06 to USD 48.57 per barrel compared with Friday's close.
Tony Cross, analyst at trading firm TrustNet Direct, said the market fell back on "a combination of profit taking after recent gains, and the fact that the global supply glut is not disappearing".

Crude futures had risen in earlier Monday trade as dealers digested an upbeat market assessment from the OPEC crude producers' cartel.
Market pressures that slashed the price of oil to below USD 50 appear to be easing, OPEC declared Monday, tweaking upwards its 2015 forecast for global crude demand.

"Fundamentals factors (of supply and demand) that have weighed on the market for more than a year have persisted, but are starting to show signs of alleviation," the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its October report.
It hiked its forecast for global demand for oil this year to 92.86 million barrels per day, up from 92.79 mbpd.

OPEC also cut its forecast for oil production by non-members of the group, notably in the Americas.
This is partly a result of OPEC's strategy -- driven by kingpin Saudi Arabia -- of keeping production levels unchanged, despite the lower oil price, to preserve market share and make life difficult for US shale oil producers.