OPEC Postpones Meeting

VIENNA — The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced today it has postponed until Thursday its anxiously awaited meeting while ministers continue secretive negotiations aimed at reaching a new accord on limiting production.

Petroleum prices, which had fluctuated wildly in the previous session on conflicting reports about the progress of the talks, turned in another erratic performance before settling slightly higher. U.S. markets closed early for the Thanksgiving Day holiday and were not scheduled to reopen until Monday. OPEC President Rilwanu Lukman of Nigeria indicated that a dispute between Iran and Iraq, one of the main stumbling blocks to an agreement, had yet to be resolved.