The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies have postponed technical meetings until the end of this week to assess the impact of the new version of the Omicron coronavirus on oil demand and prices, according to OPEC+ sources and documents. buy time.
Oil prices tumbled more than 10% on Friday along with other financial markets, their biggest one-day fall since April 2020, as the new edition stunned investors and raised concerns that a supply surplus could rise in the first quarter. could.
Friday’s downturn was exacerbated by low liquidity due to a public holiday in the United States.
Prior to Friday, OPEC had already predicted surpluses would skyrocket after the US and other large consumers decided to release an inventory of oil to help bring down prices.
According to the documents, OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, have extended the date of their Joint Technical Committee meeting from Monday to Wednesday. OPEC will meet on the same day.
Documents show that a Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting will be held on Thursday instead of Tuesday. The OPEC+ meeting will also take place on the same day that the policy decision will be announced.
“We need more time to understand what this new version is and whether we need to overreact,” said an OPEC+ source.
