Crude futures fell sharply Tuesday on the possibility that OPEC will boost production and U.S. crude inventories are continuing to rise.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ministers, who meet Wednesday, are worried that a possible U.S. recession would further cut demand for crude.

Chakib Khelil, president of OPEC, said the cartel is not to boost production, but some investors are betting the cartel will boost production to bring prices down.

Prices were also pressured by expectations that domestic crude inventories rose by 2.3 million barrels last week, according to analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell 2.93 U.S. dollars to 99.52 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange.