Oil Prices Decline in Advance of OPEC Meeting

Oil prices rose slightly during Wednesday’s Asian session following a four percent decline overnight on fears that today’s OPEC meeting in Vienna may not yield actionable steps to cut oil production. Brent gained 0.37 during Wednesday’s Asian session, trading at $46.55, while U.S. crude futures trade at $45.51, 0.62 percent higher than the lows hit on Tuesday. Oil prices are likely to slump further if OPEC fails to reach a deal later today. Skeptics are concerned that even if a deal is reached, member states won’t likely comply with the imposed restrictions.Oil prices

"The weight of any cuts will almost certainly fall on the shoulders of both Saudi (Arabia) and the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA. Nevertheless, Reuters reports that it is Iran and Iraq who are most resistant to the cuts and whose opposition may foil the deal that members have been working so hard to structure since the preliminary agreement was struck in Algiers in September. OPEC originally said that it would exempt Iran, Libya and Nigeria from the production cut as these countries are already struggling due to sanctions. In recent days, however, Saudi Arabia has suggested again that Iran be included in the suggested production cuts. At the same time, Iraq has claimed that it shouldn’t be required to cut production because it is relying on the income from its oil sales to fund the fight against ISIS.

The Wider Markets

Continued gains on Wall Street on Tuesday turned into Asian gains on Wednesday, with Asian stocks hitting three-week highs. South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.4 percent while Japan’s Nikkei index rose 0.1 percent on Wednesday. The yen continued to weaken against the dollar on Wednesday, falling to 112.56. The greenback has gained 7 percent on the yen since Trump’s presidential victory earlier this month. The Chinese yuan extended its rally, trading at 6.8829

Sara Patterson
Sara Patterson has a Master’s Degree in political science and enjoys analyzing both current events and the international markets to get a fuller perspective of the currency market. Before turning to financial writing, she taught English writing skills to high-school age students. Sara’s work has been published on various financial and Forex blogs.