Oil prices head for weekly loss as market awaits November supply news
Oil prices were stable on Friday but were still headed for a weekly loss of about 7-8% after news of potential increases to OPEC+ supply.
Brent crude futures were up 29 cents, or 0.5%, at $64.40 a barrel by 1311 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 27 cents, or 0.5%, at $60.75.
For the week, Brent was trading 8.2% down and WTI was on course for a 7.6% decline.
"We are in a wait-and-see mode for what the OPEC+ Group of Eight will decide over the weekend," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding that Friday's modest price recovery was likely to be attributable to positive risk sentiment.
Eight members of OPEC+ could agree at an online meeting on Sunday to raise production in November by 274,000-411,000 barrels per day (bpd), or two or three times higher than the October increase, sources told Reuters on Tuesday, as Saudi Arabia seeks to reclaim market share.
Potentially higher OPEC+ supply, 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, analysts say.
"Demand indicators have fallen a touch through the Atlantic Basin as summer demand comes to an end. The oversupplied implied balance from a fundamentals perspective starting in October is gaining ground," said Rystad Energy analyst Janiv Shah.
JPMorgan analysts, meanwhile, said they believed that September marked a turning point, with the oil market heading towards a sizeable surplus in the fourth quarter and into next year.
Elsewhere on Friday, a fire broke out at Chevron's (CVX.N), opens new tab El Segundo refinery overnight, though a county official said the flames had been confined to one area. The refinery is one of the largest on the U.S. West Coast, with capacity of 290,000 bpd.
Source: Reuters
