Oil prices inch down as OPEC and allies seek consensus on output

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices inched down on Tuesday as investors awaited direction from OPEC and its allies after the producers postponed a formal meeting to decide whether to lift output from January.

Brent crude was down 19 cents at $47.69 a barrel by 1430 GMT and West Texas Intermediate was down 36 cents at $44.98.

Both contracts have surged around 27% in November, pushed up by hopes that COVID-19 vaccines would boost the global economy and fuel demand, and aided by expectations that oil producers would keep a tight rein on output amid a new wave of the virus.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies, a group known as OPEC+, delayed talks on next year’s output policy to Thursday from Tuesday, as the main players had yet to agree, sources said.