Crude Oil Closes Near $49 as OPEC Seen Discussing Output Ceiling

(Bloomberg) - Oil closed near $49 a barrel in New York as OPEC delegates said the group would be discussing the reintroduction of output ceilings at Thursday’s meeting in Vienna. West Texas Intermediate was little changed after rising 6.9 percent in May as supply was curbed by wildfires in Alberta and militant attacks in Nigeria. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is considering a production cap along with other proposals, and any deal would be signal of group unity but unlikely to affect actual production, delegates said. "Nobody thought they would do anything this week, so the introduction of a target is a big deal," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "The introduction of a quota would be the first time in a year and a half that they have done anything that hints at production restraint." - See more at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/144840/Crude_Oil_Closes_Near_49_as_OPEC_Seen_Discussing_Output_Ceiling#sthash.MzINK6On.dpuf