ANKARA, Nov 24 — Oil prices were mixed in a highly volatile trading session today as Opec+ members again altered their plans to digitally communicate output decisions after delaying their meeting for four days, flooding the markets with supply concerns, reported Anadolu.

International benchmark crude Brent traded at US$81.43 (RM381) per barrel at 10.42 am local time (0742 GMT), a 0.01 per cent increase from the closing price of US$81.42 a barrel in the previous trading session yesterday.

The American benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), traded at the same time at US$76.56 per barrel, down 0.68 per cent from yesterday’s close of US$77.10 per barrel.

After reports of a postponement of the Opec+ meeting to next Thursday, November 30, from the original schedule on Sunday, prices fluctuated during two consecutive sessions, with Brent dropping more than 4 per cent to US$78.41 a barrel on Wednesday.

Opec+ producers announced yesterday that their meeting would be held virtually, which further intensified market supply uncertainties.

It was anticipated that the Opec+ group would decide on the new output policy, which would mostly come from Saudi Arabia and Russia and involve production quotas and output cuts for member countries.

Experts caution that the recent price drops may impact Saudi Arabia’s resolve to reduce output, given that the country is believed to have a price floor of US$80 a barrel. Since October 2022, Saudi Arabia has been contributing to the group’s joint cut of 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in addition to its output cut of approximately 1.5 million bpd.

Markets will now monitor whether the group will further restrict production, adhere to the current levels, or increase them.

Because the group always considers market equilibrium, the supply-and-demand balance will also serve as a guide.

Global oil demand is expected to reach an average of 101.5 million bpd in the first quarter of next year, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest oil market report.

Global oil supply during the same period is predicted to reach 102.8 million bpd on average. This could represent a surplus of approximately 1.3 million bpd even if the group decides to keep the current output levels.

Further suppressing oil prices and signalling demand weakness in the US, crude oil inventories in the country increased by around 8.7 million barrels, compared to the American Petroleum Institute’s expectation of a rise of around 9 million barrels. — Bernama-Anadolu