Oil Steady in Thin Trade After OPEC+ Delays Meeting
Oil was steady as traders eyed further clues on OPEC+’s output plans after postponing a key meeting for four days.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures held below $69 a barrel, while Brent crude settled above $73. The producer group is set to discuss whether to press ahead with a supply restart at a delayed online meeting on Dec. 5, or extend curbs into 2025 to avoid global markets becoming oversupplied
Crude has traded in a tight range since mid-October, alternating between weekly gains and losses. Prices have been shaken by volatile geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, waning demand in top importer China and concerns about whether incoming President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could affect supplies from Russia and Iran. Futures remained on track for a weekly loss of more than 3% as a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah erased some of the war risk premium. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said conditions were improving for a deal to free hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Trading volumes were lower because of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday in the U.S., with just over 2.25 million WTI contracts changing hands for the week so far on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s about half the average weekly volume over the past year.
Source: Bloomberg
