Oil Heads for Weekly Decline Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting on Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Oil headed for its biggest weekly loss in a month as persistent concerns about demand hang over the market ahead of an OPEC+ meeting.

While West Texas Intermediate rose toward $71 a barrel on Friday amid a risk-on tone, futures are still down around 3% for the week. OPEC+ gathers over the weekend to discuss the group’s production policy against the backdrop of a sluggish economic recovery from China, despite the end of Covid Zero.

Most market watchers expect OPEC+ to keep output levels unchanged, although the group did unveil surprise cuts in April and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister recently warned speculators to “watch out.” Crude is down around 13% this year, in part due to resilient crude exports from Russia.

Equity markets across Asia rose on Friday as concerns over further interest-rate hikes from the Federal Reserve eased, while news that Congress had passed legislation to avert a US default added to positive sentiment.

US crude stockpiles rose by about 4.5 million barrels last week, while supplies at the key storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, expanded for a sixth week, according to Energy Information Administration data released Thursday.

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