The September market fell $1.21 a barrel in New York on Friday.Brokers said volumes in Asia on Monday were typically thin and trades were seen within a narrow band of $28.42 to $28.62 a barrel.The market rose slightly after one of OPEC's leading exporters, Kuwait, said it was abiding by the cartel group's output policy and had no plans to hike output unilaterally.

"We make no arrangements outside OPEC," Kuwait's Oil Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah told Reuters on Monday.

But he made no reference to evidence that Saudi was pumping more oil.Sheikh Saud also said he thought current prices were fair considering the summer season.Oil newsletter Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported on Monday the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait may join Saudi to hike output discreetly without formal agreement from OPEC.

Fundamentals bearish
Oil fundamentals have turned bearish as evidence of more Saudi oil supplies showed through heavier tanker traffic and direct offers to Western buyers by marketer Saudi Aramco.On Thursday and Friday last week, oil lost around $2.00 a barrel combined.Industry sources said Saudi was fulfilling a pledge made on July 3 to bring oil prices down to around $25.00 a barrel through incremental supplies of 500,000 barrels-per-day (bpd).

But neither Saudi officials nor the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have declared any fresh output hike.OPEC president Ali Rodriguez said last Thursday that Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi had assured him the kingdom would not act alone to lower oil prices.OPEC has in the last four months agreed to two rounds of hikes, bringing its output up by around 2.4 million bpd.But strong US demand for refined products have kept upward pressure on in the market.OPEC has said it would only raise output again on condition that its basket crude prices exceed $28 a barrel for 20 consecutive working days.

-- (Reuters)