In subdued pre-U.S. Thanksgiving holiday trade on Wednesday, oil prices slightly declined as investors awaited word on output cutbacks from the OPEC+ producers group and sought confirmation of a significant build-up in U.S. crude reserves.

By 0946 GMT, Brent crude futures had dropped 52 cents to $81.93 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate oil futures for the United States fell 49 cents to $77.28.

The prices of both benchmarks have declined for the past four weeks, and mounting worries about the demand forecast exacerbated last week’s decline.

Ahead of the planned OPEC+ meeting on Sunday, when the producer group may talk about more supply cutbacks in response to the slowing development of the world economy, investors remained wary.

Both contracts saw a 2% increase on Monday after three OPEC+ sources informed Reuters that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, producers, were expected to discuss further reductions in oil production during their meeting on November 26.

According to IG market strategist Jun Rong Yeap, “the upcoming meeting has been the key central focus for oil prices for now, with sentiments shrugging off the sharp rise in U.S. crude inventories.”

According to analysts, OPEC+ will continue or intensify its oil output cutbacks throughout the upcoming year.

On Tuesday, the head of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) oil markets and industry section stated that there will be a minor supply surplus in the global oil market in 2024, even if the OPEC+ countries continue their cutbacks into the following year.

According to a report on Wednesday from John Evans of oil trader PVM, OPEC and its partners will need to not only extend but also intensify their cuts to sustain prices.

“A rollover of cuts and voluntary cuts will send the market south, for the current level of supply clamp is not enough to persuade the market that it is ‘tight’,” he stated. “Oil is in for some tense and headline-reactive days.”

According to market sources quoting data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, U.S. crude stockpiles increased by around 9.1 million barrels in the week that concluded on November 17.

While distillate inventories decreased by approximately 3.5 million barrels, gasoline inventories decreased by approximately 1.79 million. The US government’s stockpile data is expected on Wednesday. Thanksgiving is observed as a public holiday in the United States on Thursday.