Il Nuovo Postiglione - Oil slumps as OPEC+ delays summit, stocks rise

Sentiment also won a partial boost after Israel and Hamas announced a deal allowing at least 50 hostages and scores of Palestinian prisoners to be freed while offering besieged Gaza residents a four-day truce after weeks of all-out war.

A statement announcing a delay to Thursday of a planned summit of the 13-member OPEC group led by Saudi Arabia and their 10 partners led by Russia did not provide any explanation.

The oil exporters are due to decide on their output policy amid slumping crude prices and weak crude demand as China's post-Covid rebound stutters and Europe and the United States battle inflation.

The current output strategy by OPEC+ that saw nine members led by Riyadh to cut production in recent months to boost prices has failed to bring about lasting recovery.

Oil prices, which had been trading modestly lower, slumped to losses of around 4.6 percent, with the main international crude contract, Brent, falling back under $80 per barrel.

Some analysts have pointed to possible discord between top oil exporter Saudi Arabia -- which has lobbied for production cuts to support prices -- and Russia.

Recently, "the Saudi Arabian energy minister blamed speculators for the oil price slide" rather than weak demand, suggesting that they would likely continue the "restrictive production policy", said analyst Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank.

On the other hand, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that "current oil prices objectively reflect the current situation" and that "the market is balanced", according to Russian news agencies.

Wall Street's three main indices rose at the start of trading, with data showing continued strength in the US labour market.

In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris stocks pushed higher but London slid despite the announcement of measures by the UK government to boost the nation's ailing economy.

Asian equity indices diverged as traders tracked a tepid lead from Wall Street following meeting minutes showing Fed officials were inclined to keep interest rates elevated for "some time" in order to tame inflation.

Minutes from the Fed's October-November policy meeting showed decision-makers recognised the impact that more than a year of rate hikes has had on inflation -- which has dropped from the four-decade high seen last year -- but were mindful to make sure they got the job done.

Yet many traders remain hopeful that the central bank will opt for a cut at some stage next year.

"With markets heavily focused on the transition from monetary tightening to the timing of the first 2024 rate cut, yesterday's minutes did little to dampen sentiment -- despite their view that rates would remain restrictive for some time yet," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

"With markets currently pricing a 95-percent chance that we have seen the end of the rate-hike cycle, the now commonly-touted stance that the Fed will tighten further if necessary, remains an empty threat unless we see prices take a notable turn upwards."

- Key figures around 1430 GMT -

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 4.6 percent at $78.68 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.6 percent at $74.18 per barrel

New York - DOW: UP 0.3 percent at 35,186.03 points

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,472.66

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 7,267.94

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 15,994.77

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 4,356.29

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 33,451.83 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 17,734.60 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,043.61 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0877 from $1.0911 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2483 from $1.2539

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.37 yen from 148.39 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.13 pence from 88.36 pence

burs-rl/jm

Q.Bernardi--INP