Ahead of next week's OPEC meeting in Vienna, strategists are closely watching swings in crude oil prices, which are faltering after weeks of gains. Despite political tensions involving oil superpower Saudi Arabia and OPEC's promises to cut production, crudeprices could come down by year-end, one strategist says. Here's why. • "Tensions in Saudi Arabia are still flaring following the actions by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," Chantico Global CEO Gina Sanchez said Monday on CNBC's "Trading Nation," referring to a vast political shakeup in the kingdom earlier this month that initially boosted oil prices. • It is unlikely, however, that this will be an "actual geopolitical event," Sanchez said, and oil prices should continue settling. Click Read More below for additional information.

European crude oil loadings bound for Asia have dropped to their lowest in four years at the start of 2018 as rising Brent prices shut the arbitrage window, causing the…

November futures dropped 0.5 percent in New York after climbing 1.6 percent Wednesday. Gasoline supplies dropped a third week to the lowest level since November 2015, while distillate stockpiles fell by the biggest amount since 2011, according to government data. Crude inventories expanded by 4.59 million barrels last week, more than the 3.9 million-barrel gain projected in a Bloomberg survey. U.S. oil production also rose a second week. “The market focused on the sharp recovery in crude demand implied” by the decline in fuel inventories on Wednesday, said Jens Naervig Pedersen, a senior analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “It adds to the bullish sentiment buoyed by concerns about the Iran nuclear deal and headlines about OPEC looking at a possible extension of output cuts.” U.S. gasoline stockpiles fell by 2.13 million barrels last week to 216.2 million, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. Distillate inventories, a category that includes diesel, dropped by 5.69 million barrels. Crude output expanded by 157,000 barrels a day to 9.51 million a day. Click Read More below for more of the story.