Oil tumbles nearly 4% as OPEC+ meeting delayed

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., Nov 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File photo

LONDON  -Oil prices tanked nearly 4 percent on Wednesday as OPEC+ producers delayed a meeting on output planned for Sunday, raising questions about the future course of crude production cuts.

Brent crude futures was down $3.05, or 3.7 percent, to $79.40 a barrel by 1313 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $2.97, or 3.82 percent, to $74.80.

OPEC+ delayed its ministerial meeting to Nov. 30 from Nov. 26 as previously scheduled, OPEC said in a statement, without giving a reason for the postponement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that the OPEC+ meeting could be delayed for an unspecified period of time after Saudi Arabia expressed its dissatisfaction with other members about their output numbers.

Analysts had predicted before the delay that OPEC+ was likely to extend or even deepen oil supply cuts into next year.

Both Brent and WTI oil benchmarks have fallen for four straight weeks.