Oil slipped to near $98 per barrel Tuesday as investors anticipate increased crude production from OPEC countries.

Benchmark crude for July delivery gave up 62 cents at $98.39 per barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to discuss a change in its production quotas at the cartel's meeting Wednesday in Vienna. Analysts say ministers could increase production in an attempt to push fuel prices lower and take some pressure off the world economy.

The move would be largely symbolic since most OPEC countries already produce more than their daily quota. Raising the quota could allow some countries to boost production even more.

"There's a lot of people who are nervous ahead of those meetings," independent oil analyst Jim Ritterbusch said. After a slew of gloomy reports on gasoline demand, unemployment, consumer confidence, housing and manufacturing, oil investors are less confident that oil will rise in the short term, Ritterbusch said.

"You're seeing a big rush to the exits on the part of hedge funds," he said.

Still, major investment banks say oil is headed higher later this year and into 2012. Rising global demand -- driven by China and other emerging economies -- will keep pressure on oil supplies.

Those forecasts were supported Tuesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration's monthly outlook. The EIA said world oil demand will grow by 1.7 million barrels per day this year and another 1.6 million barrels per day in 2012. And despite a recent decline in gasoline consumption in the U.S., the government says drivers will burn an additional 3.4 million gallons per day in 2012.