02:30 PM EST, 11/28/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices rose early in light electronic trade with exchanges closed for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday as OPEC+ delayed a planned Sunday meeting to decide on whether to begin returning some production cuts to market to Dec.5.

West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was last seen up US$0.19 to US$68.91 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up US$0.45 to US$73.28. There are no closing prices for either contract due to the holiday.

Oil has traded in a tight US$5.00 range over the past month with demand from China remaining weak as its economy struggles. OPEC+ ministers postponed a planned virtual Dec.1 meeting to Dec.5 as the group quibbles on whether to delay again the staggered return 2.2-million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts through monthly additions of 180,000 bpd starting in January. Reports say the cartel is likely to opt for another postponement due to concerns the additional supply will weaken prices.

"Oil prices remained stable and range bound as trading slowed before the US Thanksgiving holiday, with attention on the OPEC+ meeting ... OPEC+ is expected to delay increasing production to address potential oversupply concerns next year," Saxo Bank noted.

The Energy Information Administration on Thursday reported U.S. oil inventories fell by 1.8-million barrels last week, the first drop in a month. However the drop in crude stocks was accompanied by a 3.3-milllion barrel rise in gasoline inventories, well above the consensus estimate for a drop of 46,000 barrels among analysts polled by Reuters.