Oil prices drop on U.S. stock build, delay in OPEC+ meeting

* Formal OPEC+ meeting delayed to Thursday from Tuesday
* U.S. crude stocks rose 4.1 million barrels last week -API
* Coming up: EIA inventory data at 1530 GMT

By Jessica Jaganathan
SINGAPORE, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices extended losses on
Wednesday, hit by a surprise build in oil inventories in the
United States and as OPEC and its allies left markets in limbo
by delaying a formal meeting to decide whether to increase
output in January.
Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were down by 27 cents, or
0.6%, at $47.15 a barrel by 0131 GMT, while West Texas
Intermediate crude CLc1 was down by 29 cents, or 0.7%, at
$44.26.
Industry data from the American Petroleum Institute showed
U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.1 million barrels last week,
compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a
draw of 2.4 million barrels. The numbers came after the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other allies, a group
known as OPEC+, postponed talks on next year's oil output policy
to Thursday from Tuesday, sources said. Earlier this year the group imposed production cuts of 7.7
million barrels per day (bpd) as the coronavirus pandemic cut
into fuel demand. It had been widely expected to roll those
reductions over into January-March 2021 amid spikes in COVID-19
cases.
"The risks of the OPEC+ alliance failing to reach an
agreement are high," ANZ analysts said in a note on Wednesday.
"A resurgent virus has seen restrictions on travel increase
across Europe and the U.S," they said, adding the market surplus
could be as high as 1.5 to 3 million barrels per day in the
first half of next year, if the group does not extend cuts.
But the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said this week that even
though it could support a rollover, it would struggle to
continue with the same deep output reductions into 2021.

Meanwhile non-OPEC+ member Norway's oil output curbs, in
place since June, are set to end on Dec. 31, which could further
dent prices.