The price of oil is sliding Wednesday despite rumours that Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to freeze output and confirmation from Russia's oil minister confirming that he spoke with Saudi officials on Tuesday.

Near 2 p.m. BST (9 a.m. ET) both European and US benchmarks are lower by more than 1%, with investors seemingly jittery about the coming oil-producer meeting in Qatar over the weekend.

Brent crude, the European benchmark, has fallen off a five-month high, dropping 1.12% to $44.19 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude has lost 1.45% to trade at $41.56. Here's how oil looks on Wednesday:

Media reports out Tuesday saying Russia and Saudi Arabia had held talks and agreed on an output freeze sent the price of oil sharply upward, but since Alexander Novak, Russia's oil chief, confirmed that the talks with Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi took place, oil's price has remained subdued.

"Now I do not want to comment prematurely on what will be discussed on April 17 in Doha," Novak told the Russian news agency TASS, hinting that the two countries may have reached an agreement on a freeze. "Let's wait for the consultations. The talks were held yesterday, this is a fact, but I will not announce the decision beforehand."

"Everything is possible because these are open documents. Everyone who wants to join this will join. As for those who do not want to join — no one will force them," he added, possibly alluding to Iran's reluctance on joining the meeting. However, Novak did say that he was optimistic about achieving an agreement on a freeze.

While it looks as if Saudi Arabia and Russia are willing to cooperate on a freeze, one of the big sticking points ahead of the Doha meeting is Iran's involvement in any freeze. Since reentering into the global markets in January after the lifting of sanctions, Iran has ramped up output massively, and the officials have said the country will continue to do so.

Unconfirmed reports Wednesday morning that Iranian officials were not even planning to attend the producer meeting were likely to have helped push oil lower. According to a journalist at the Iranian publication Seda Weekly, Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh will not go to Doha on Sunday but will instead send a delegate.

Opinions on a freeze in production, which would be designed to address supply issues and boost oil's price, are mixed. Saudi Arabia and Russia are both thought to be keen on the freeze, while a senior Iraqi official on Tuesday called a freeze "the only way."