Oil Prices Dip as Market Anticipates OPEC+ Output Raise
Oil prices declined as the market anticipated that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) would increase output in July. Brent crude futures slipped 21 cents, or 0.33%, to $63.94 a barrel on Friday while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 22 cents, or 0.36%, to $60.72 a barrel.
Oil prices were on track for a second consecutive weekly decline on Friday, weighed down by expectations of another OPEC+ output hike in July amidst uncertainties in US trade policy. A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Thursday, a day after a U.S. trade court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said it was pausing the lower court’s ruling to consider the government’s appeal and ordered the plaintiffs in the cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9.
US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.6% during the week ending May 23, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Thursday.
Inventories fell by around 2.8 million barrels to 440.4 million barrels, against the market prediction of 1 million barrel increase. Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased 800,000 barrels reaching to 401.3 million barrels, the data revealed.
Over the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by around 2.4 million barrels to 223.1 million barrels. EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 9,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.4 million bpd during the week ending May 23.
US crude oil imports rose by 262,000 bpd to approximately 6.35 million bpd, while exports increased by 794,000 bpd to around 4.3 million bpd over the same period.
In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on May 7, the EIA predicted that crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 13.4 million bpd in 2025. #Oil Prices Dip as Market Anticipates OPEC+ Output Raise Seplat Energy Falls by 10% as Investors Exit Positions
