Oil down 1% on bearish view of delayed OPEC+ meeting

Brent crude oil price news: Oil prices fell 1 per cent in early trading on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session, after OPEC+ postponed a ministerial meeting stoking views the producers might cut output less than earlier anticipated.

Brent futures fell 81 cents, or 1 per cent, to $81.15 a barrel, after falling as much as 4 per cent on Wednesday. US West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 72 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $76.40, after declining as much as 5 per cent in the previous session.

Trade was expected to remain muted due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. In a surprise move, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia delayed to Nov. 30 a ministerial meeting where they were expected to discuss oil output cuts.

Producers were struggling to agree on output levels and hence possible reductions ahead of the meeting originally set for Nov. 26, OPEC+ sources said. Three OPEC+ sources, however, said this was linked to African countries, which are smaller producers in the group, which eased investor concerns.

The questions over OPEC+ supply come as data showed US crude stocks jumped by 8.7 million barrels last week, which was much more than the 1.16-million build that analysts had expected.

US oil rigs remained unchanged at 500 in the week to Nov. 22, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) said in its closely followed report on Wednesday. Meanwhile, about 3 per cent of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, or around 61,165 barrels of daily output, was shut in by an underwater pipeline leak, the US Coast Guard said on Wednesday.