Oil prices fell during Asian trade on Friday, on course to post a weekly decline of around 2.5% as markets reacted to volatile developments in United States trade policy and anticipated an output increase from OPEC+.
By 3 pm AEST (5 am GMT) Brent crude futures were down $0.30 or 0.5% to US$63.85 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $0.30 or 0.5% to $60.64 per barrel.
The price weakness followed a turbulent series of court decisions on U.S. tariffs. President Donald Trump’s duties were temporarily reinstated by a federal appeals court on Thursday, reversing a prior ruling that had blocked some of the most extensive tariffs.
Meanwhile, attention has shifted to the upcoming OPEC+ meeting scheduled for Saturday, where members of the oil-producing alliance are expected to decide on a potential production increase for July.
“The exact size of the hike is to be announced at the meeting but is expected to be larger than currently scheduled,” said ANZ analysts. “OPEC met on Wednesday to discuss the current production quotas, with members ratifying current levels for this year and next."
As the group seeks to manage supply discipline, particular focus is on countries exceeding their quotas. Kazakhstan, a consistent overproducer, has drawn criticism from other members.
Nevertheless, Kazakhstan has indicated it does not plan to reduce its output. According to a report from Russia’s Interfax news agency on Thursday, citing the country’s deputy energy minister, Kazakhstan does not intend to comply with proposed cuts.
On the data front, crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels to 440.4 million barrels in the week ending 23 May, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), below expectations of a 600,000 barrel build.
