Oil was steady near a two-month high as investors weighed tighter U.S. restrictions to curb the virus spread and emerging cracks in the united front put up by OPEC+ as it struggles to manage the market. Futures were little changed after falling as much as 1.2% earlier after New York City — the country’s early virus epicenter — said it would shut schools due to rising infections. Oil’s rally has paused after gaining 4.2% over the previous three sessions amid positive news on the outlook for a Covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, officials from the United Arab Emirates privately considered the idea of leaving OPEC+ with policy makers growing increasingly frustrated by what they see as an unfair allocation of output targets. The development comes as the alliance debates whether to delay a planned easing of cuts.

WTI slips after rallying on vaccine developments

Only 35% of Americans will be taking to the roads this year during the Thanksgiving holiday, compared with 65% last year, according to GasBuddy, while in Europe, driving continued to decline.

PRICES
  • West Texas Intermediate for December delivery slid 4 cents to $41.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:46 a.m. London time
    • Prices gained 0.9% on Wednesday to close at the highest level for a front-month contract since Sept. 1
  • Brent for January settlement added 0.3% to $44.45 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after rising 1.4% in the previous session