Crude prices drop as Saudi Arabia cuts price

Crude prices plunged Tuesday as Saudi Arabia reduced the prices of its crude sold to the United States.

Crude prices drew back as Saudi Arabia, the largest producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), reduced the cost of its oil to U.S. customers.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the state-owned producer, cut prices of crude exported to the U.S., the company said in a statement Monday. Traders regarded this as a way to battle for market share.

Market survey showed that crude output from the OPEC grew by 53, 000 barrels to 30.974 million barrels each day, a 14-month high.

The OPEC production accounts for about 40 percent of the world' s oil supply. The organization is scheduled to discuss output limit at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 27.

U.S. crude inventories increased amid rising production from shale formations. Crude inventories rose to 379.7 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 24.

On the economic front, U.S. new orders for manufactured goods in September decreased 0.6 percent, worse than expected, the department said in a separate report Tuesday.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery moved down 1.59 dollars to settle at 77.19 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery lost 1.96 dollars to close at 82.82 dollars a barrel.