Oil prices fell, amid calm trading ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and the markets are waiting for the news of production cuts from the group of oil-producing countries “OPEC Plus”, and confirmation of data on the sharp rise in US crude oil inventories.
Brent crude futures fell by 95 cents to 81.50 dollars a barrel, at 11:49 Grec, while West Texas crude futures fell by 92 cents to 76.85 dollars.
Both indices lost one dollar at the beginning of trading.
The data showed that the two crude oil indices declined for four consecutive weeks, and prices fell further last week on the back of growing concerns about the demand outlook.
Investors are still adopting a cautious approach ahead of the OPEC plus meeting, which has been postponed to the end of this month, where the organization will discuss further production cuts due to the slowdown in global economic growth.
Both indicators had risen by about 2%, on Monday, after three sources in the organization of “OPEC Plus” told Reuters that the organization is considering further reducing the supply of oil when it meets on the twenty-sixth of November.
“The upcoming meeting is the main driver of oil prices at the moment, with investors ignoring the sharp rise in US crude inventories,” said Jun Rong Yap, market strategist at IG.
Analysts expect that the “OPEC Plus” system will continue or further reduce the supply of oil until next year.
John Evans, analyst at “PVM”, believes that to boost prices, OPEC and its allies need not only continue to reduce production but also increase it.
Evans added that further production cuts will push the oil markets down as the current levels of production are insufficient to convince investors that the market is tight.
