18.01.201708:11:00UTC+00Crude Oil Slides As Dollar Finds Footing, OPEC Ramps Down Slightly

Crude oil futures fell Wednesday morning as the dollar recovered versus other majors, denting commodities priced in the greenback.

Also, OPEC oil production fell in December but remained exceedingly high ahead of January's coordinated output quotas, according to figures released today.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, excluding outgoing Indonesia, pumped 33.085 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, down from a 7-year high of 221,000 bpd from November, OPEC said in a monthly report.

OPEC expects Russia production to drop significantly in compliance with a recent deal, helping to offset U.S. and Canadian increases.

The American Petroleum Institute is out with its weekly report on U.S. inventories today.

Meanwhile, WTI light sweet crude oil for February was down 1 dollar at $51.45 a barrel.