Oil prices ease on global economic concerns, OPEC inaction

By Karolin Schaps

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Friday after the U.S. central bank warned of a weakening global economy and on signs that the world's biggest crude producers would keep pumping at high levels to maintain market share.

The Federal Reserve decided against raising interest rates from historic lows on Thursday, saying uncertainty about global economic growth had forced its hand.

U.S. stocks fell sharply and European shares also opened lower on Friday.

"The price decline is partly due to the U.S. stock market performance last night and partly due to the generally bearish fundamental picture," said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at brokerage PVM Oil Associates in London.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $46.48 per barrel at 0832 GMT, down 42 cents from their last settlement. Brent crude was down 3 cents at $49.05 per barrel.

Kuwait, a key member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Thursday the oil market would balance itself but that this would take time, indicating support for the group's policy of defending market share despite falling prices.

Other sources at OPEC backed this view, saying they expected oil prices to rise by no more than $5 a barrel per year to reach $80 by 2020, with a slowing in rival non-OPEC production growth not enough to absorb the current oil glut.

Front-month U.S. crude futures have strengthened this week to their firmest versus Brent since the early days of the U.S. shale oil boom, knocking off 70 percent of their discount to the global benchmark to around $2 per barrel.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson)