Oil prices fell by 4% following news that Sunday’s meeting between OPEC+ producers has been delayed. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slumped 4.2% lower to $74.51 a barrel while Brent crude futures declined 4.1% to $79.06 per barrel.
Previously scheduled for Sunday 26 November, members of OPEC+ delayed their meeting until Thursday, November 30, with the cartel giving no reason for the decision. At the meeting, Saudi Arabian and Russia, along with its fellow OPEC+ allies, were set to discuss changes to a deal that limits supply going into 2024.
“The upcoming meeting has been the key central focus for oil prices for now, with sentiment shrugging off the sharp build in U.S. crude inventories,” Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG observed. While oil broker PVM explained that oil cuts must be extended and deepened, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) oil markets and industry division confirmed that the global oil market will see a slight surplus heading into 2024.