Oil prices fell on Friday amid concerns over a decline in demand in the two most fuel-consuming regions of the world, driven by an increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States and Europe.
OPEC and its allies fear that the second wave of the epidemic and the leap in Libyan production will drift into next year.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 23 cents to settle at $42.93 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 8 cents to settle at $40.88 a barrel.
Brent rose 0.2% for the week, while WTI was on track to gain 0.7%.
The pandemic is spreading actively again in Europe and North America and will undoubtedly impact potentially on oil demand recovery. Britain imposed stricter COVID-19 restrictions in London on Friday, while some European countries have revived curfews and lockdowns to combat the rise in new coronavirus cases.
The Joint Technical Committee of OPEC + allies discussed the worst-case scenario at a monthly, virtual meeting on Thursday. The group’s Joint Ministerial Observation Committee (JMMC) will consider the outlook on Monday. JMMC can make a policy recommendation.
Strong words are awaited at Monday’s meeting to compensate for the members’ mismatch. What everyone is wondering about is whether there will be any action against the incompatibilities left behind this time and whether the reaction will remain in word.
OPEC + is preparing to reduce the current supply cut of 7.7 million barrels a day by 2 million more barrels a day in January.
US oil drillers started to increase the number of drilling rigs again after dropping to a 15-year low in August. In fact, it is said that this week it added the most oil rigs and the number increased from 12 to 205.
