Oil Edges Lower In Choppy Trade As OPEC+ Delays Meeting

• The unexpected delay in the OPEC+ meeting, originally set for November 26 but postponed to November 30, led to a nearly 1% decline in oil prices. The meeting aimed to discuss potential changes to existing production cuts.
• Brent futures dropped 4% to $78.41 a barrel, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude falling over 5% to $73.79. Prices later rebounded after it was revealed that the delay was due to disagreements among smaller African producers within OPEC+, and some attributed the initial drop to low liquidity ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
• The delay raised concerns about potential increased oil production in the coming months, especially if OPEC+ does not extend or increase current output cuts. U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 8.7 million barrels, contributing to the downward pressure on prices.
• The U.S. dollar rebounded from a 2.5-month low, making dollar-denominated oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies. Despite the need for OPEC+ to extend and potentially increase cuts to support prices, a bearish outlook for the oil market was presented earlier in the week, and there are predictions of a slight supply surplus in the global oil market by 2024.

(Source: Reuters)