The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on Wednesday the postponement of the OPEC+ ministerial meeting until the end of this month.
The meeting in Vienna, scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed to November 30, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members are set to decide on a new production target in response to falling oil prices. Saudi Arabia leads OPEC, while Russia leads the non-OPEC members.
The announcement by OPEC Plus, without explanation, caused oil prices to drop over 4% around 14:00 GMT, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both affected.
The oil market had been anticipating the meeting, with prices declining since September end as Brent crude traded below $80 in the face of global demand concerns.
In China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil, the post-Covid-19 recovery turned out to be much slower than expected, and indicators from Europe and even the United States are conflicting.
The current strategy of OPEC Plus, including nine members such as Riyadh, has failed to sustainably increase prices despite recent production cuts.
According to analysts, there could be disagreements between the two main countries involved, Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Recently, the Saudi Energy Minister blamed speculators for the drop in prices, stating that it was not consistent with market fundamentals, according to Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
In contrast, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed on Wednesday that “current oil prices objectively reflect the current situation.”
“The market is balanced, but we will discuss these issues in detail at the next meeting,” Russian news agencies quoted him as saying.
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