As of 0300 GMT, Brent crude fell 51 cents, or 0.7%, to $75.75 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 30 cents, or 0.4%, to 71, $53 a barrel.
US crude is heading for a weekly loss of around 0.5%, while Brent crude is heading for a slight weekly loss of 0.03%.
Both crudes fell more than two dollars a barrel in settlement yesterday, Thursday, after TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying he was not awaiting further news. measures of the OPEC + bloc during its meeting in Vienna on June 4.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said energy prices were approaching “economically justifiable” levels, also indicating there may not be an immediate change in the alliance’s production policy.
On the other hand, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stressed this week that the coalition will continue to work proactively, preemptively and to guard against what may happen in the future, whatever be the critics.
During an address on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum, the minister added that “OPEC+” has 3 objectives, which are “vigilance, initiative and coverage of what may happen in the future”, as he said.
He said he would keep short sellers “in pain” and called on them to “be careful”.
Some oil market players interpreted this as a sign that OPEC+ might seek further production cuts.
Markets continue to watch US debt ceiling talks, as President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appeared close to reaching an agreement to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling .
The dollar appreciated for the fifth consecutive session against a basket of currencies, which also dampened the rise in oil prices.
A rising US currency makes commodities denominated in it more expensive for holders of other currencies, dampening demand.
The dollar received a boost after the release of the Fed’s latest minutes, which showed a split among members on whether or not to continue raising interest rates, adding to expectations of a possible rate hike. 25 basis points from the Fed at its June meeting.
The minutes showed that some members indicated the continued need for further rate hikes, while others indicated that slowing economic growth ends the argument behind continued monetary tightening.
It should be noted that the US Federal Reserve had approved 10 consecutive interest rate hikes since March 2022, to reach the range of 5% and 5.25%, against a level close to zero more than a year ago. , in an effort to control inflation.
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