(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell after an OPEC+ agreement to postpone an output hike planned for January remained elusive ahead of a meeting of the cartel’s power brokers later on Monday.
U.S. crude futures declined as much as 1.8% in Asia, dropping back below the $45 a barrel level after last week hitting their highest in eight months. Most participants in an informal discussion on Sunday supported maintaining production curbs at current levels into the first quarter, said one delegate, but met opposition from the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan.
Unless the existing agreement is revised this week, producers will restart about 1.9 million barrels a day of halted output, potentially pushing the global market back into surplus and undermining the recent surge in crude prices.
Read: OPEC Faces Seismic Demand Split as Cartel Plots Next Move
U.S. crude has risen about 25% in November as signs of progress toward a coronavirus vaccine lifted optimism for a long-term rebound in fuel consumption, even as many parts of the world remain in lockdown. Expectations that OPEC and its allies would delay the planned output increase have underpinned the rally.
Positive signs for demand continue to emerge from China, with at least one fuel supplier already gearing up for an expected surge in air travel ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Meanwhile, Chinese refiners may ramp up fuel shipments in December after they received more export quota and as returns from making diesel improve in Singapore, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.
Alongside strong demand from Asia, there are signs consumption is also gradually improving elsewhere. Foot traffic in U.S. airports hit the highest since March before the Thanksgiving holiday, though it remains about 1.5 million people lower year-over-year, according to data from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
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