Oil drops as OPEC+ resume talks on output cut extension after impasse

TOKYO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday as
producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia locked horns over
the need to extend record production cuts set in place in the
first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 15 cents, or 0.3%, at $48.10 a
barrel by 0155 GMT, after gaining 1.8% on Wednesday. U.S. oil
CLc1 was down 17 cents, or 0.4%, at $45.11 a barrel, having
ended 1.6% higher the previous session.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
and Russia are resuming discussions on Thursday to agree on
policies for 2021 after earlier talks produced no compromise on
how to tackle weak oil demand amid a new coronavirus wave.
OPEC and allies, in the group known as OPEC+, had been
widely expected to roll over oil cuts of 7.7 million barrels per
day, or 8 percent of global supplies, at least until March 2021.
But after hopes for a speedy approval of anti-virus vaccines
spurred a rally in oil prices at the end of November, some
producers questioned the need to tighten oil policy, which is
supported by OPEC leader Saudi Arabia.
"Any sign that the group is struggling to reach an agreement
could weigh on prices," ANZ Research said in a note.
Britain approved Pfizer Inc's PFE.N COVID-19 vaccine on
Wednesday, jumping ahead in a global race to start the most
crucial mass inoculation programme in history. In the United States, crude stockpiles fell last week, while
gasoline and distillate inventories rose sharply as refiners
slowed production amid weakening demand, the Energy Information
Administration said on Wednesday. EIA/S
Oil stocks USOILC=ECI fell by 679,000 barrels in the week
to Nov. 27, by less than the 2.4 million-barrel decline forecast
in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Gasoline stocks increased by 3.5 million barrels, while
distillate inventories were up by 3.2 million barrels.
Adding to international supplies, Venezuela's crude exports
almost doubled last month, according to data from the state-run
PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon.