LONDON/KUWAIT ( Reuters ) - The drop Movement.down.loss in oil futures to their weakest level Position.low in one-year has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst crisis Crisis in Iraq Last summer , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between the West and Saudi Arabia , and sanctions Embargo against the OPEC member nation .

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are trading lower Movement.down.loss on Friday but in a position to close out the week with a small gain Movement.up.gain after hitting a multi-month high Position.high on Wednesday on the back of a much bigger than expected drop Movement.down.loss in U.S. crude stockpiles .

Oil futures slide Movement.down.loss slightly on last night after rallying for three straight sessions , but remained close to four-year highs Position.high on concerns Negative_sentiment that global supplies will drop Movement.down.loss due to Washington 's sanctions Embargo on Venezuela .

The expected drop Movement.down.loss in U.S. crude stocks of 633,000 barrels , according to a Reuters poll , follows data showing employment returned to its pre-recession peak , the latest in a string of positive U.S. indicators .

Oil futures declines Movement.down.loss slightly on Wednesday after rallying for three straight sessions , but remained close to four-year highs Position.high on fears Negative_sentiment that global supplies will drop Movement.down.loss due to Washington 's sanctions Embargo on the OPEC member nation .

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 1.9-million-barrel drop Movement.down.loss .

The South American member of OPEC derives 96 percent of its export revenues from oil , so the drop Movement.down.loss in prices has hit exacerbated Situation_deteriorate a national economic decline Movement.down.loss , a foreign currency shortage Shortage and a scarcity of basic goods .

On the output side , the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) and its allies including Kuwait , known as OPEC + , recommended a further reduction Cause.movement.down.loss of 600,000 bpd Jan-17 to stem the oil contract drop Movement.down.loss .

Oil slid Movement.down.loss 5 percent to its lowest level Position.low in two years on Monday , extending the second-deepest rout on record , after Goldman Sachs warned that prices would drop Movement.down.loss further and Gulf producers showed no sign of limiting Cause.movement.down.loss output .

The gasoline supply will climb Movement.up.gain to 18 percent , from 16 percent , while fuel oil will drop Movement.down.loss 13 percentage points , shrinking Movement.down.loss to 4.00 % of refined products made in Russia .

Oil prices also drew support from last week 's 2.6-million-bpd drop Movement.down.loss in crude inventories , Ric Spooner , chief market analyst at Sydney 's CMC Markets , said .

The declines Movement.down.loss were led by France and Germany , which saw diesel consumption drop Movement.down.loss by 50,000 and 20,000 bpd respectively from a year earlier .

LONDON/KUWAIT ( Reuters ) - The drop Movement.down.loss in oil prices to their lowest level Position.low in four years has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst conflict Civil.unrest in Libya this decade , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between Middle East and Saudi Arabia , and sanctions Embargo against Venezuela .

While the drop Movement.down.loss has rekindled speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) may need to squeeze Cause.movement.down.loss output for the first time in six years when it meets next month , some analysts are looking much further ahead .