LONDON, Nov 27: Oil prices fell slightly on Thursday as the market looked ahead to a weekend Opec meeting in Cairo where the crude producers’ cartel may decide against slashing output.

Light sweet crude for January delivery lost 22 cents to $54.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

On London’s InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for January dropped 39 cents to $53.53.

“All eyes will now be on Opec’s informal meeting in Cairo this weekend,” said oil market analyst Nimit Khamar of Sucden brokers.

“Opec members have to show they are willing to continue cutting output in line with falling demand if they are to succeed in stabilising prices and a cut this weekend and then in December could go some way in achieving that.”

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has watched oil prices collapse from record highs above $147 in July, sparking serious concern among its members about plunging revenues.—AFP