Oil prices took a significant hit on Wednesday, dropping more than 4%, following news that the highly anticipated meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, would be postponed. The meeting, originally scheduled for Sunday, was expected to discuss the possibility of further cuts to global oil supply.

Both Brent crude, the global benchmark, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US benchmark, experienced a decline of over 4% late morning ET. Brent traded down 3.7% to $79 a barrel, while WTI fell 3.8% to $75 a barrel by 11.49 a.m. ET.

The delay in the OPEC+ ministerial meeting, which has been pushed back to November 30, without providing a reason, left traders concerned about the possibility of disagreement among member countries regarding the scale of future output cuts. This uncertainty contributed to the plunge in oil prices.

According to sources cited by Reuters, the meeting was postponed due to disagreements over the current production levels of certain OPEC members and the potential cuts associated with them. Bloomberg also reported that Saudi officials expressed discontent with some members' output levels.

The prolonged decline in oil prices over the past four consecutive weeks can be attributed to factors such as record crude oil production in the United States and apprehensions regarding weakening global demand, notably in China, the world's largest oil importer. Since late September, Brent has experienced an 18% decrease, while WTI has plunged 20% since reaching its peak that month, entering a bear market.

In an attempt to stabilize prices, OPEC+ announced prior commitments to reduce total output by 1.66 million barrels per day until year-end, with additional voluntary cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia. However, these measures have not been sufficient to compensate for the ongoing pressure on prices.

Jorge León, senior vice-president at Rystad Energy, expressed concerns over a potential deadlock among OPEC+ countries in agreeing on further cuts. Although León still expects an agreement to be reached on November 30, he acknowledged that the process may prove to be challenging. Several OPEC+ members, including Russia and Nigeria, face difficulties in accepting lower production targets.

As oil prices continue their decline, this may bring relief to US drivers in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The average price of a gallon of regular gas currently stands at $3.28, a drop of nearly 8% in a month and 10% below last year's levels, according to AAA.

The market will closely monitor the OPEC+ meeting later this month, as the outcome will have significant implications for global oil prices and supply dynamics.