Oil declines ahead of OPEC+ meeting

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices erased early gains today, Dec. 4, after weekly US inventory data showed demand for oil fell as production rose, a day before the OPEC+ meeting.

Brent crude futures for February 2025 delivery fell 1.8%, or $1.31, to $72.31 a barrel, after exceeding $74.

WTI crude futures for January 2025 delivery fell 2%, or $1.4, to $68.54 a barrel, after touching $70.51.

The Energy Information Administration data revealed that US crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels during the week ended Nov. 29, but inventories at the Cushing delivery center—the largest storage center in the US—rose by 100,000 barrels.

The weekly report showed that oil demand—measured by finished products supplied to the market—fell by about 503,000 barrels per day to 19.97 million barrels per day, with oil production rising by 20,000 barrels to exceed 13.5 million barrels per day.

Markets are awaiting a meeting, scheduled for Dec. 5, of OPEC+ energy ministers to decide on production policy, amid expectations that the alliance will postpone abandoning its voluntary production cut plans early next year.