Oil prices down over adjourned OPEC+ meeting

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday over uncertainties due to the adjournment of the OPEC+ group meeting in which differences arose among member countries in their agreement of a production cut quota for February.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $50.84 per barrel at 0634 GMT, and compared to Monday, marked a decrease of 0.49% after closing at $51.09 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $47.45 per barrel at the same time for a 0.36% decrease after it ended the previous session at $47.62 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, failed to agree at Monday’s meeting on whether to keep the current 7.2 million barrels per day production level or increase the quota. The group, however, will resume talks later on Tuesday.

Prices succumbed to downward pressure not only on the inconclusive OPEC meeting but lingering concerns over low demand, which were not helped with the UK’s announcement of a new national lockdown that will start Wednesday and run until around mid-February to stem the soaring number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Geopolitical risks also exerted pressure on oil prices when Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) on Monday seized a South Korea-flagged oil tanker in the waters of the Persian Gulf for allegedly violating maritime environmental laws.