Oil Prices shed more than 1 percent lower in the latter part of Thursday, November 10, as markets recovered from shock over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and focused on oversupply concerns, as well as whether OPEC will decide to cut production later this month, Reuters reports.
Most markets shook off post-election losses and bounced back on Thursday, but oil still faces a glut that has kept prices under pressure for much of the past two years.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, meets in Vienna on Nov. 30 for talks on output cuts. It has sought cooperation from non-members, including Russia, but doubts remain over whether they can come to an agreement.
Brent crude settled down 54 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $45.84 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended 61 cents, or 1.4 percent, lower at $44.66.
WTI’s front-month discount to the second-month, or contango, hit its widest in nearly three months on concerns about domestic oversupply as data shows rising stockpiles, traders said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported a 2.4 million-barrel rise in domestic crude inventories to 485 million barrels last week.
“When the physical markets are weak, that influences people to hedge their cargos, and that results in selling,” said Scott Shelton, energy futures broker with ICAP in Durham, North Carolina.
The market was under pressure even as stockpiles at the U.S. delivery hub for crude futures in Cushing, Oklahoma dropped by 663,916 barrels for the week to Nov. 8, according to traders, citing energy monitoring service Genscape.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the global market will remain in surplus unless OPEC can reach an agreement at its Nov. 30 meeting.
