Oil Edges Higher in Thin Trading Ahead of Key OPEC+ Meeting
Oil edged higher as trading thinned with the US Thanksgiving holiday and the market focuses on an upcoming OPEC+ meeting that has been delayed until Dec. 5.
Global benchmark Brent traded near $73 a barrel in a choppy session. OPEC+ is widely expected to once again delay restoring production when it next meets, to offset concerns about an anticipated glut next year.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Sunday, has been pushed back by four days. The group had earlier in the week started talks on delaying an increase to supply.
Oil has been caught in a tight range since mid-October, with prices buffeted by geopolitical risks in the Middle East and Ukraine, Donald Trump’s presidential election victory and expectations of a glut in 2025. US trading has quietened before the holiday, with just over 500,000 lots of WTI changing hands on Wednesday — almost 40% less than the year-to-date average.
“Absent any geopolitical developments, we expect price action to remain muted, even more so now that the OPEC+ ministerial meeting has been pushed back,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group.
Meanwhile, US crude inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels last week, snapping a three-week run of gains, according to Energy Information Administration data.
Brent rose 0.7% to $73.35 a barrel at 10:23 a.m. in London.
WTI traded at $69.17 a barrel.
Source : Bloomberg
