Oil prices edge lower, OPEC+ meeting remains in focus
Oil prices are edging lower today, with investors focused on Sunday's meeting of OPEC+, which comprises the OPEC cartel and its allies led by Russia. North Sea Brent crude was down about half a percent shortly before 18:00 CET, falling below 82 dollars per barrel. U.S. light crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down nearly 0.6 percent, trading near 77.4 dollars per barrel.
Some investors are taking profits today after the previous rise in oil prices, Reuters reported. There is speculation that OPEC+ could discuss a more substantial cut in oil supplies to the market at Sunday's meeting, given the slowdown in global economic growth. „There is no doubt that the upcoming meeting of OPEC+ energy ministers will be one of the most significant in recent times,“ said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM.
Helima Croft, an analyst at RBC Capital, believes OPEC+ has some room to deepen production cuts. She added, however, that Saudi Arabia is likely to demand a greater contribution to any additional production cuts from other members of the group. Saudi Arabia, a key member of the OPEC cartel, introduced a voluntary production cut of one million barrels per day in July. This voluntary reduction supplemented a broader OPEC+ agreement to limit supplies to the market.
Oil prices in dollars per barrel (about 159 litres):
| EXCHANGE | TYPE | CONTRACT | CURRENT PRICE | PREVIOUS CLOSE |
| London – ICE | Brent | January | 81,92 | 82,32 |
| New York – NYMEX | WTI | January | 77,39 | 77,83 |
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
