Oil prices settled higher after news of potential increase in supply by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+).
Brent crude futures gained 42 cents or 0.7 per cent to trade at $64.53 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up by 40 cents or 0.7 per cent to sell at $60.88 per barrel.
For the week, Brent fell by 8.1 per cent, marking the largest weekly loss in over three months, while the WTI tumbled by 7.4 per cent.
Market analysts noted that the expected increase in OPEC+ production and the Iraq/Kurdish pipeline beginning to flow after being shut in the past two years is keeping sellers present in crude.
Eight OPEC+ countries are likely to further raise oil output on Sunday, October 5, with the group’s leader Saudi Arabia pushing for a large increase to regain market share and Russia suggesting a more modest rise.
However, analysts warned that higher OPEC+ supply and slowing global crude refinery runs owing to maintenance and a seasonal dip in demand in the months ahead are set to weigh on market sentiment.
The joint ministerial monitoring committee of OPEC+ has stressed the need for full compliance with respective members’ production quotas, just as Kazakhstan’s output came in at 1.65 million barrels per day last month or 12 per cent above its 2025 quota, despite seasonal field maintenance.
Also, a pipeline from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to Turkey restarted for the first time in 2½ years, which is likely to contribute towards a sizeable surplus in the fourth quarter and into next year.
US President Donald Trump gave Hamas until Sunday night to agree to his proposal to end Israel’s war in Gaza.
On the supply side, oilfield service provider Baker Hughes said that US producers cut oil rigs by 2 to 422.
Elsewhere on Friday, a fire broke out at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery overnight. The refinery is one of the largest on the US West Coast, with capacity of 290,000 barrels per day.