Crude futures weakened in early trade on Wednesday, ahead of the OPEC ministerial meeting and as uncertainty over Europe’s ability to tackle its debt crisis continued to stoke fears of a slowdown in oil demand growth. Investors are to see if there is any change in OPEC production capacity. US crude slipped 31 cents to $83.01/B. The contract settled 62 cents higher after falling to an 8-month low in the previous session. Brent fell 13 cents to $97.01/B.