Oil prices fall on US crude stock build, OPEC remains in focus

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh won’t be going to the Qatari capital, according to an Iranian oil official who asked not to be identified because he’s not authorized to speak to the media.

The oil exporters’ representatives – from Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Russia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Venezuela, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Nigeria – are meeting in Qatar’s capital Doha to discuss details of a potential deal on output cuts. In referring to a possible compromise over Iran, an OPEC source told Reuters, “Whatever it takes to reach a consensus will be taken by the ministers; we can not leave Vienna on November the 30th without an agreement”.

Falih and other ministers have said previously that OPEC would reduce output to that range, without specifying the higher or lower end.

In an interview with the Financial Times, al-Falih said he believes that Trump will “see the benefits” of oil imports and that the oil industry will advise him that “blocking trade in any product is not healthy”.

Russia said it was ready to support OPEC’s decision on an output freeze and sees big chances that the oil producers’ group can agree on the terms of the freeze by November 30, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.

Al Falih told Al Arabiya TV that following the Opec announcement, the oil market was on a path toward ‘becoming balanced’.

Despite renewed optimism that an OPEC output freeze is on track, rising oil production data and changing fundamentals “makes a credible OPEC cut all the more hard to achieve”, American investment bank Jefferies said in a note on Thursday.

Brent crude oil was up 80 cents a barrel at $47.43 by 1255 GMT (6:25 p.m.in India).

USA crude futures lost 15 cents, or 0.33%, to $45.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices have been under pressure thanks to a global supply glut, and buffeted about a fair bit on hopes of an output cap being achieved at OPEC’s November meeting.

“Reports of a diplomatic push by OPEC to strike a deal are supporting the markets”, said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.

The de facto OPEC leader is the largest Middle East oil supplier to the US. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday he will meet with Barkindo in Caracas on Wednesday.

In a further effort to forge consensus, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo is visiting more OPEC members in the next few days. 30 meeting. Ongoing talks between members and nonmembers are expected to take place in the lead up, as they look to curb production to stabilize prices.