HOUSTON—US crude futures fell on Friday as traders expected OPEC+ would decide on Saturday to boost oil output for July beyond previous forecasts.
Brent crude futures settled down 25 cents, or 0.39 percent, at $63.90 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude finished down 15 cents, or 0.25 percent, at $60.79 a barrel, having earlier dropped more than $1 a barrel.
The Brent July futures contract is due to expire on Friday. The more liquid August contract was down 71 cents, or 1.12 percent, at $62.64 a barrel.
At these levels, the front-month benchmark contracts were headed for weekly losses over 1 percent.
Prices dipped into negative territory after Reuters reported that OPEC+ may discuss an increase in July output larger than the 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) rise that the group decided on for May and June.
“What OPEC+ is planning doesn’t look particularly supportive for the oil market,” said Matt Smith, Kpler’s lead analyst for the Americas.
The potential OPEC+ output hike comes as the global surplus has widened to 2.2 million bpd, likely necessitating a price adjustment to prompt a supply-side response and restore balance, said JPMorgan analysts in a note, adding that they expected prices to remain within the current range before easing into the high $50s by year-end.
Phil Flynn, a senior analyst with Price Futures Group, said an online post on Truth Social by US President Donald Trump that seemed to threaten more changes in tariff levels for Chinese imports also put pressure on crude prices.
