U.S. and global crude benchmarks ended lower Monday amid choppy trading and concerns that member nations of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will maintain high production levels in a bid to compete for market share despite growing global crude supplies. A four-month decline in prices has dragged crude oil into bear-market territory. Reuters Light sweet crude futures for front-month November delivery ended the day down 4 cents at $82.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was steady in early trading but slipped through midmorning, and stabilized in the afternoon. November futures expire Tuesday and most of the volume in the market has moved forward into the December contract, which ended down 15 cents at $81.91 a barrel. The global Brent contract ended the day down 76 cents or 0.9% at $85.40 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The declines ended two […]