Oil dips as market reacts calmly to Brussels attacks

Traders are keeping their eye on global oversupply ahead of a crucial producers' meeting in Qatar next month.

Oil prices eased Wednesday as traders reacted calmly to the Brussels attacks and kept their eye on global oversupply ahead of a crucial producers' meeting in Qatar next month. At around 0300 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was down 46 cents at $40.99 while Brent for May was 41 cents lower at $41.38.

-"Oil prices are pulling back as the market reaction to the Brussels attacks was not as adverse as expected,-" Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG in Singapore, told AFP.-"The impact of terror activity on financial markets has lessened substantially in recent years. Economies and markets have a tendency to adjust and desensitise to such events over time.-"

Daniel Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures, said: -"We continue to believe that price movements are continually influenced by the current global oversupply. -"Fundamentals should still be bearish in the immediate term and we continue to believe that cuts to US production would be key further down the road.-"

He said there may be some price volatility if top OPEC and non-OPEC members agree on a production freeze when they meet in Doha on April 17.

But he added that a mere production freeze at January levels would not be enough to sustain an uptrend in oil prices, which are now more than 60 percent off a mid-2014 peak due to excess supply and slowing world demand.

-"There have to be cuts to production if higher prices were to be favoured,-" he said.WTI rose last week above $40 for the first time since December, boosted by a sharp drop in the dollar which generally makes crude less expensive. Renewed optimism that producers would strike a deal to freeze output also buoyed prices.

OPEC's secretary-general Abdalla el-Badri said in Vienna on Monday that 15 or 16 nations would join the Doha talks.He said he expects crude to see a -"moderate-" bounce after the talks.