Oil is stable while diesel is creeping ever closer to gasoline across the c

Crude prices were generally lower Friday ahead of an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting (OPEC) meeting this weekend. Analysts expect OPEC will agree to additional production cuts beyond the 4.2 million barrels per day previously announced but those announcements have been met only with indifference in recent months. On Friday, benchmark crude for April delivery settled at $46.25 on the NYMEX, down 78 cents. The relatively stable price activity is in contradiction to OPEC?s December pronouncement that it would slash production by more than 2 million barrels a day.