On Friday, oil prices experienced a slight increase in early trade due to the possibility of OPEC+ extending output cuts. However, the crude benchmarks were anticipated to end the week with losses due to U.S. economic uncertainty and limited disruption in crude supply caused by the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Brent crude futures for July saw a rise of 16 cents to $83.83 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for June increased by 19 cents to $79.14 per barrel. Despite these gains, both benchmarks were expected to face weekly losses as concerns grew over the impact of higher interest rates on U.S. economic growth, and the ongoing Middle East conflict’s minimal effect on global oil supplies.
Brent was on track for a 6.3% weekly decline, with WTI showing a potential loss of 5.6% for the week. The decline occurred just ahead of the upcoming meeting of OPEC+ countries, which could potentially extend voluntary oil output cuts beyond June if demand does not recover.
The current focus of the market is on U.S. economic data and future crude supply from the largest producer in the world. The release of the U
