The growing list of OPEC members seeking exemptions from a planned supply cut has investors seeing future price drops.
Money managers increased bets on lower West Texas Intermediate oil for the first time in five weeks as Iraq joined Iran, Nigeria and Libya in seeking to be excluded from OPEC’s first agreement to reduce output in eight years.
The deal was reached in Algiers on Sept. 28 and sent futures climbing. But internal disagreements over how to implement the cuts prevented an accord to secure the cooperation of other major suppliers this weekend in Vienna.