Oil falls as OPEC+ resumes output cut extension talks after impasse

[December 03, 2020]  By Aaron Sheldrick and Julia Payne

TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday as producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia locked horns over the need to extend record production cuts set in place during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brent crude was down 26 cents, or 0.54%, at $47.99 a barrel by 0950 GMT, after gaining 1.08% on Wednesday. U.S. oil fell 33 cents, or 0.73%, to $44.95 a barrel, having ended the previous session 1.6% higher.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, are resuming discussions on Thursday to agree on policies for 2021 after earlier talks produced no compromise on how to tackle weak oil demand amid a new coronavirus wave.

Two OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Thursday the group was leaning towards an oil cuts rollover with a gradual increase in output over the coming months.

OPEC+ had been widely expected to roll over oil cuts of 7.7 million barrels per day, or 8 percent of global supplies, at least until March 2021.

But after hopes for a speedy approval of COVID-19 vaccines spurred a rally in oil prices at the end of November, some producers questioned the need to tighten oil policy, which is supported by OPEC leader Saudi Arabia.

"It is still expected that the group will come to a deal," ING Economics said in a note.

Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, as a man is seen wearing a protective face mask, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani

Britain approved Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, jumping ahead in a global race to start the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history.

In the United States, crude stockpiles fell last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose sharply as refiners slowed production amid weakening demand, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Oil stocks fell by 679,000 barrels in the week to Nov. 27, less than the 2.4 million-barrel decline forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Gasoline stocks increased by 3.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories were up by 3.2 million barrels.

Adding to international supplies, Venezuela's crude exports almost doubled last month, according to data from the state-run PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon.

(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Alexander Smith and Pravin Char)

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