Oil prices surged on Thursday morning following news that the OPEC+ cartel had postponed its upcoming meeting to next week.
Benchmark Brent crude rose to $73.19 per barrel, up from an earlier low of $72.42 on a thin day of trading with US markets closed for Thanksgiving.
OPEC announced that the meeting, originally planned for Sunday, has been rescheduled to next Thursday to avoid overlapping with another event.
The OPEC+ alliance of oil-producing nations has rescheduled its next meeting on output policy to December 5, moving it from the originally planned date of December 1 to avoid clashing with another event.
A summit of Gulf Arab nations is set to take place in Kuwait City on December 1, with several OPEC+ ministers expected to attend.
OPEC+, which includes OPEC members and allies led by Russia, is responsible for producing about half of the world’s oil. The group has been working to gradually reverse production cuts implemented to stabilize prices, with plans extending through 2025. However, slowing demand in China and globally, coupled with rising oil output from non-OPEC+ countries, presents challenges to these efforts.
On Wednesday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the de facto leader of OPEC, held discussions with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev during an official visit to Kazakhstan.
Earlier in the week, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Russia engaged in talks in Baghdad.
