OIL FUTURES: Crude prices fall as OPEC+ delays meeting to decide on production cuts

Crude oil futures were lower in midafternoon Asia trading Nov. 28 after the OPEC+ alliance postponed a meeting where they were expected to delay plans to increase production.

At 3:19 pm Singapore time (0719 GMT), the ICE January Brent futures contract was down 16 cents/b (0.22%) from the previous close at $72.67/b while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract was down 14 cents/b (0.20%) from the previous close at $68.58/b.

"Oil prices remained stable as trading slowed before the US Thanksgiving holiday, with attention on the OPEC+ meeting this weekend. West Texas Intermediate stayed below $69/b, while Brent crude was near $73/b. OPEC+ is expected to delay increasing production to address potential oversupply concerns next year," said Saxo APAC Research Nov. 28.

The upcoming OPEC+ meeting is now scheduled for Dec. 5 from Dec. 1 earlier, sources said.

Market participants saw no surprises in US crude oil inventories that saw a drawdown in line with expectations.

Dubai crude

The January Dubai swap was pegged at $71.15/b at 3:19 pm Singapore time (0719 GMT), down 42 cents/b (0.59%) from the previous Asia market close.

The December-January Dubai swap intermonth spread was pegged at 44 cents/b, unchanged over the same period, and the January-February Dubai swap intermonth spread was pegged at 42 cents/b, narrowing 1 cents/b over the same period.

The January Brent-Dubai exchange of futures for swaps was pegged at $1.52/b, wider 6 cents/b over the same period.