Oil prices fell approximately 1% on Thursday, November 23 due to speculation that OPEC+ may not deepen production cuts next yearafter the group postponed a meeting, according to Reuters.
The futures of Brent They were down 61 cents or about 0.7% at US$81.35 a barrel at 5.34 pm (GMT), after falling as much as 4% on Wednesday. American crude oil West Texas Intermediate (WTI) —which is used as a reference in Peru— fell 78 cents or 1% to US$76.32 after falling up to 5% in the previous session.
The session already had low volumes due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
Meeting postponed until November 30
On Wednesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+), including Russia, surprisingly postponed until November 30 a ministerial meeting in which they were to discuss production cuts.
Producers were having trouble agreeing on production levels ahead of the meeting originally scheduled for Nov. 26, OPEC+ sources said.suggesting that the disagreement was largely related to African countries.
OPEC+ members Angola and Nigeria are targeting higher oil production, officials told Reuters on Thursday.
“We believe Nigeria can feel calm as leaders value its long membership in OPEC and improving ties with Saudi Arabia”said Helima Croft, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
“However, it may be more difficult to bridge the gap with Angola, which has been a more temperamental member of the producer group since joining in 2007,” he added.
The move lower appears overdone and the market will likely rebound a bit next week once traders return from the Thanksgiving holiday, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.
Crude oil inventories increased in the United States
The OPEC+ supply questions come as data showed U.S. crude stocks rose by 8.7 million barrels last week, much more than the 1.16 million analysts expected.
On the demand side, there was more gloomy news. Although a survey showed that the decline in business activity in the euro zone eased in November, the data suggested that the bloc’s economy will contract again this quarter; as consumers continue to curb spending.
With information from Reuters.
Source: Larepublica
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