NEW YORK—Oil prices fell over 1 percent lower on Friday and recorded for their biggest weekly losses since the end of March, as traders turned cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting to decide the group’s output policy for June.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled 95 cents, or 1.6 percent, to settle at $58.29 a barrel. Brent crude futures closed down 84 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $61.29 a barrel.
For the week, Brent fell over 8 percent and WTI lost about 7.7 percent.
The OPEC+ meeting was moved up to Saturday from the original plan of Monday, three sources told Reuters on Friday, although it was not clear why the meeting was rescheduled.
Members of the group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, are deliberating whether to make another accelerated oil output increase in June or stick with a smaller hike, two of the sources said.
Either way, oil traders braced for more supply from the group, at a time when fears of an economic slowdown caused by a trade war between the US and China have prompted market experts to lower demand growth expectations for this year.
“This market is all about OPEC now with even the tariff war taking a back seat,” United ICAP energy specialist Scott Shelton said.
Reuters reported this week that officials from Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC+, have briefed allies and industry experts that they are unwilling to prop up oil markets with further supply cuts.
OPEC+ is currently cutting output by over 5 million barrels per day.
Traders were also cautious given the possibility of a de-escalation of the trade dispute between China and the US States, after Beijing on Friday said it was evaluating a proposal from Washington to hold talks to address US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“There is some optimism when it comes to US-China relations but the signs are only very tentative,” Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group, said.
