Benchmark oil prices are little changed on Wednesday morning, as investors await a meeting of OPEC+ ministers.
The price of January futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange at 7:15 a.m. is $81.68 per barrel, the same as at the close of the previous session. The day before, these contracts rose in price by $1.70 (2.1%) to $81.68 per barrel.
Quotes for January futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by this time increased by 15 cents to $76.56 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, they rose by $1.55 (2.1%) to $76.41 per barrel.
The meeting of OPEC+ ministers will be held online on November 30, although it was originally planned to hold the meeting in person in Vienna on November 26.
The future direction of oil prices largely depends on whether OPEC+ can “demonstrate continued unity within the group and commitment to stabilizing oil prices in the long term,” Sevens Report Research analysts wrote.
The OPEC+ countries are likely to extend the existing oil production restrictions with minimal changes until the end of the first quarter of 2024, according to Citi analysts. They estimate the probability of maintaining production at the same level at 60-70%, large-scale reductions in fuel supplies at about 20%, and an increase in production at 10-20%.
In addition, investors are studying signals about changes in energy reserves in the United States. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), last week the US reserves decreased by 817 thousand barrels.
Official data from the US Department of Energy will be published at 17:30 on Wednesday.
