© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. Picture taken November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File Photo
By Nicole Jao
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices tanked more than 2% on Wednesday as OPEC+ producers unexpectedly delayed a meeting on production cuts, raising questions about global crude supplies.
futures fell $2.02, or 2.5%, to $80.43 a barrel by 12:35 p.m. (1735 GMT), after falling as low as $78.41. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $2.04, or 2.6%, at $75.73, after hitting a session low of $73.79.
OPEC+ postponed the meeting, originally scheduled for Nov. 26, to Nov.30, it said in a statement, a surprise development that drove prices sharply lower in early trading. The group was expected to discuss whether to expand oil output cuts.
“This postponement indicates difficulties within the OPEC+ group to reach an agreement to cut production,” said Jorge Leon, senior vice president at Rystad Energy.
The meeting, which includes major producers Saudi Arabia, Russia and other allies and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, had been expected to consider further changes to a deal that already limits supply into 2024, according to analysts and OPEC+ sources.
The delay suggests more production could come online from oil producers in the coming months, said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
A rise in inventories also put pressure on prices, he said.
{{8849|U.S. crcrude oil inventories rose by 8.7 million barrels last week on higher imports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
The U.S. dollar bounced back from a 2-1/2-month low after economic data showed lower unemployment claims. A rise in the greenback makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies.
Both crude benchmarks have fallen for four straight weeks.
To support prices, OPEC and its allies will need to not only extend, but increase cuts, said John Evans of oil broker PVM in a note.
Earlier this week, an OPEC technical panel invited a top financial market dealer to give a presentation, seen by Reuters, which painted a bearish outlook for the oil market.
Even if the OPEC+ nations extend their cuts into next year, the global oil market will see a slight supply surplus in 2024, the head of the International Energy Agency’s oil markets and industry division said on Tuesday.
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