U.S. Oil Price Slides As OPEC Says It Has More Capacity

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (AFP) - New York`s main crude oil contract slumped by more than a dollar a barrel Wednesday after OPEC said it could still pump up to an extra 1.5 million barrels per day.
The benchmark contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, skidded 1.40 dollars to 42.75 dollars in late afternoon trade.
Earlier in the day it hit an all-time high 44.34 dollars.
Prices dropped sharply after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it had surplus production capacity of 1.0 million to 1.5 million barrels per day, immediately available.
"OPEC continues to hold, at present, a spare production capacity of around 1-1.5 mb/d, which would allow for a immediate additional increase in production," the OPECNA news service quoted OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro as saying in a statement.
"Furthermore, in response to expected future demand growth in the coming years, member countries have plans in place to further increase production capacity by around one mb/d towards the end of this year and in 2005," he said.