WTI loses momentum above $76.00 as OPEC+ delays meeting

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $77.20 so far on Thursday. WTI prices extended their downside as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) unexpectedly delayed a meeting on production cuts.

Early Thursday, the OPEC Secretariat stated that the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday could be delayed from November 25–26 to November 30, which would drag oil prices lower and raise concerns about global crude oil supplies.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is planning to extend oil production cuts by 1 million barrels a day through next year, while OPEC+ members consider additional cuts in response to declining prices. However, the forthcoming meeting was confronted with a difficult market environment, caused by rising tensions over the Israel-Hamas conflict and a slower-than-expected Chinese demand recovery.

Meanwhile, the recovery of the US Dollar (USD) might cap the upside of the oil prices as it makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive to buy the same amount of oil.

The US market is closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday. The attention will shift to the US S&P Global PMI data, due on Friday. The Manufacturing PMI figure is expected to grow to 49.8 while the Services PMI is estimated to rise to 50.4. These events could significantly impact the USD-denominated WTI price. Oil traders will take cues from the data and find trading opportunities around WTI prices.