Oil, which extended its losses on Friday, looks set to decline for a sixth consecutive week as voluntary oil production cuts agreed by OPEC+ producers fell short of market expectations.
February Brent crude futures were down 39 cents, or 0.5%, at $80.47 a barrel as of 03:45 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $75.73 a barrel.
Brent prices were trading lower than last week’s close, but WTI recouped some losses and traded slightly above last Friday’s level.
OPEC+, which pumps more than 40 percent of the world’s oil, is focusing on reducing production to support the rise in prices, which fell from around $98 at the end of September, amid concerns that economic growth will weaken in 2024 and expectations of oversupply.
Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other members of OPEC+ have agreed to voluntarily cut production of 900,000 barrels per day, in addition to extending production cuts already in effect to 1.3 million barrels per day. Delegates had previously discussed new production cuts of up to 2 million barrels per day.
The market has begun to price in the possibility of major extra cuts, including a possible longer-term unofficial cut, but has maintained its 2024 price outlook due to the expected slowdown in US supply growth.
Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, and Algeria said that the cuts, totaling 2.2 million barrels, would be gradually lifted after the first quarter as long as market conditions allow.
Separately, South America’s largest country, Brazil, said on Thursday it will join OPEC+ next year.
