- WTI drops as coronavirus resurgence in the US revives lockdown fears.
- OPEC+ is reportedly considering a three to six-month delay to a scheduled output boost.
The US oil prices fell during Friday’s Asian trading hours, extending a two-day losing trend as concerns over rising coronavirus infection overshadowed reports of major producers mulling a delay in production ramp-up.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, a North American oil benchmark, declined by 1.5% to levels below $40.50, having retreated from $43.06 to $41.12 in the preceding two days.
Risk sentiment weakened as the new coronavirus infections in the US hit record highs for the second straight day on Wednesday. According to The New York Times, at least 142,755 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the US on Wednesday.
Investors feared that authorities would respond to the surge in coronavirus numbers by reimposing the economically-painful lockdown restrictions, causing an April-like glut in the oil market.
As such, the news of OPEC+, a group of major producers led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, planning to push out oil output boost well into the second quarter of 2021, failed to put a bid under the oil.
The output boost was set to take effect on Jan. 1. OPEC+ will meet on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 to decide and finalize the oil output strategy. Currently, the group is cutting about 7.7 million barrels per day.