Opec's job has just become tougher

Opec's job of trying to prop up oil prices has just got much harder.

With Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, the 14-country oil-producing cartel may have to battle a sourer outlook for the global economy and weaker demand for crude.

It also faces the prospect of increased U.S. oil output - a major bugbear for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - given Trump's pledge to open all federal land and waters for fossil fuel exploration.

Opec's internal dynamic could change, with Trump promising to tighten policies on Iran just as oil companies begin slowly to return to the Islamic Republic.

"Buckle up your seatbelts for a more turbulent and uncertain global economy that is ahead," Pulitzer Prize-winning US oil historian Daniel Yergin, vice-chairman of the IHS Markit think tank, told Reuters.

"The outcome of the US election adds to the challenges for the oil exporters because it will likely lead to weaker economic growth in an already fragile global economy. And that means additional pressure on oil demand," Yergin said.

Oil prices fell almost 4 percent early on Wednesday but recovered to trade up slightly at around $46 per barrel by 1055 GMT LCOc1. Opec will meet on Nov. 30 in an effort to curtail output and reduce the global oil glut that has seen prices more than halve since 2014.

Opec sources said they expected oil to remain weak in the days and weeks ahead due to worries about the global economy and uncertainty about Trump's policies for the Middle East.

"Oil is doomed," one of the sources said. A second source said the Opec meeting in November might fail to have a strong impact on prices even if it strikes a deal to limit output: "I don't think prices will go up much more than the current levels."

Trump has promised to double US economic growth but also pledged protectionist trade policies.