Oil prices slip as focus switches from Suez Canal blockage to OPEC+ supply policy

TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday as
shipping traffic resumed through the Suez Canal after days on
hold and attention switched to an OPEC+ meeting this week where
the extension of supply curbs may be on the table amid new
coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $64.83 a
barrel by 0115 GMT, after gaining 0.6% on Monday. U.S. oil
CLc1 was down 1 cent at $61.55 a barrel, having fallen 1% in
the previous session.
Ships were moving through the Suez Canal again on Tuesday
after tugs refloated the giant Ever Given container carrier,
which had been blocking a narrow section of the passage for
almost a week, causing a huge build-up of vessels around the
waterway. With the likelihood that the disruption will prove minimal,
the market is turning its focus to Thursday's meeting of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and
allies including Russia in Vienna, collectively known as OPEC+.
They will discuss whether to keep in place curbs on output
that have kept millions of barrels a day off the market to
support prices, a strategy that has largely worked in recent
months.
Saudi Arabia is prepared to accept an extension of the
production cuts through June, and is also ready to prolong
voluntary unilateral curbs amid the latest wave of coronavirus
lockdowns, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.
"Market expectations for no change to output are largely
priced in," said Howie Lee, economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore.
The revival of heavy coronavirus caseloads in Europe "has put a
brake on oil's resurgence".
More than 127.43 million people have been reported to be
infected by the novel coronavirus globally, and the death toll
is approaching 3 million, according to a Reuters tally.
In Europe, rising numbers in a third wave of infections are
alarming authorities, with France's Finance Minister Bruno Le
Maire saying "all options are on the table" to protect the
public.