Oil drops more than 1% on Thursday
Shafaq News / Oil prices fell by more than 1% on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session, after OPEC+ postponed a ministerial meeting, leading to speculation that producers might cut output less than earlier anticipated.
Brent futures were down $1.04, or 1.3%, at $80.92 a barrel by 0230 GMT, after falling as much as 4% on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 90 cents, or 1.2%, to $76.20, after declining as much as 5% in the previous session.
Trade was expected to remain muted due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
In a surprise move, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia delayed to Nov. 30 a ministerial meeting where they were expected to discuss oil output cuts.
Producers were struggling to agree on output levels and hence possible reductions ahead of the meeting originally set for Nov. 26, OPEC+ sources said.
Three OPEC+ sources, however, said this was linked to African countries, which are smaller producers in the group, which somewhat eased investor concerns.
Analysts said that Angola, Congo and Nigeria were seeking to raise their 2024 supply quotas above the provisional levels agreed at the OPEC+ June meeting.
"At that meeting, OPEC squared the books on increasing UAE’s quota... by reducing the targets for the African nations that were underperforming their required production numbers," said Helima Croft, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in a client note.
(Reuters)
