Brent crude futures fell 28 cents, or 0.8%, to $75.58 a barrel at settlement, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 25 cents, or 0.3% , at $71.69.
The U.S. crude contract for May delivery, which is due to close on Monday, closed down 31 cents, or 0.4%, at $71.55 a barrel.
Nonetheless, both benchmarks posted their first weekly gains in a month, with both benchmarks up nearly 2%.
Time is running out for Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to reach an agreement to raise the federal borrowing limit by $31.4 trillion or the government will face a catastrophic default. The Treasury has warned that the government may not be able to pay its obligations by June 1.
A White House official said a deal was still possible.
There is also concern in the markets due to statements by Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, in which he said that inflation is still “much higher” than the level targeted by the bank. He added that no decision had yet been made on the next step on interest rates.
“It doesn’t look like they’re going to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling today,” said Robert Yawger, an analyst at Mizuho. “The possibility of a 25 basis point rate hike at the June meeting is growing every day.”
U.S. stocks, Treasury yields and the dollar tumbled after news broke of the suspension of talks to raise the debt ceiling and Powell’s remarks.
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