OPEC+ delays production meeting, oil prices extend losses

OPEC+, a group made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia, has postponed its ministerial meeting on production by four days, to 30 November. OPEC said so in a statement released today. The surprise announcement affected the oil market, with prices extending their decline, Reuters reported.

OPEC did not explain why it had postponed the production meeting. Bloomberg had earlier reported that the OPEC+ meeting could be delayed, as Saudi Arabia had expressed dissatisfaction with production in other countries.

Before the postponement, analysts had predicted that OPEC+ would probably extend or even deepen its agreement to cut oil supplies into next year. Saudi Arabia, a key member of the OPEC cartel, began voluntarily cutting production by one million barrels per day in July. This voluntary reduction supplemented the broader OPEC+ agreement to limit supplies to the market.

North Sea Brent crude and US light crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have fallen for four consecutive weeks. This afternoon, prices for both types of oil were down by almost four percent.