Oil slips as fears of imminent OPEC+ output cut fade | Reuters

Oil slips as fears of imminent OPEC+ output cut fade | Reuters

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, taking a breather from a near 4% surge the previous day, on receding fears of an imminent output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures fell 40 cents, or 0.4%, to $99.82 a barrel by 0337 GMT, after rising 3.9% on Tuesday.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures contract was down 27 cents, or 0.29%, at $93.47 a barrel, having jumped 3.7% the previous day.

Both contracts soared on Tuesday after the energy minister of de facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia flagged the possibility of supply cuts to balance a market it described as "schizophrenic", with the paper and physical markets becoming increasingly disconnected. read more

"While Abdulaziz bin Salman's comment may have achieved more than putting a floor under crude prices, we expect it to follow the law of diminishing returns, unless it is followed up by more signals or action from OPEC+ to restrain output," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.