Oil price tumbles nearly 4% as OPEC Plus meeting delayed

Crude oil prices fell nearly 4% on Wednesday as OPEC Plus producers delayed a meeting on output planned for Sunday, raising questions about the future course of crude production cuts. Brent crude futures declined 3.7%, to US$79.40 a barrel by 1313 GMT and WTI crude futures were down 3.82%, to US$74.80.

OPEC Plus delayed its ministerial meeting scheduled for November 30, OPEC said in a statement, without giving a reason for the postponement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that the OPEC Plus 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 Plus 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.