SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Oil prices were little changed in Asian trading on Friday, although they were heading for their first weekly gain in five weeks, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and the possibility that the OPEC+ agrees to cut crude production when it meets on October 5.
Brent crude futures for November, which expire on Friday, fell 13 cents or 0.15% to $88.36 a barrel at 0625 GMT, after losing 83 cents in the previous session. The most active December contract rose 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $87.25.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November delivery rose 0.06%, or 5 cents, to $81.28 a barrel, after falling 92 cents in the previous session .
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“A deteriorating crude demand outlook will not allow oil to recover until energy traders are confident that OPEC+ will cut output at the Oct. 5 meeting,” analyst Edward Moya said. principal at OANDA, in a client note.
“Rough price weakness is somewhat limited as the dollar weakens heading into the end of the quarter.”
Brent and WTI are both on track to rise around 3% for the week, their first weekly gain since August, after hitting nine-month lows earlier in the week.
Oil prices were supported by a decline in the dollar from 20-year highs earlier in the week. A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated oil cheaper for buyers holding other currencies, improving demand for the commodity.
For the month of September, Brent is set to fall 8.3%, down for a fourth month. For the third quarter, Brent will likely have plunged 23%, its first quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 2021.
WTI is expected to fall 9.3% in September, also its fourth monthly decline, and fall 23% in the quarter, the first quarterly decline since the period ending March 2020 when COVID-19 depressed demand .
Analysts said the market appeared to have found a bottom, with supply expected to tighten as the European Union will ban imports of Russian oil from December 5. interest rate hikes.
“Fundamentally, I still think prices are likely to rise from here with Russian sanctions tightening and with low global crude inventories, and falling SPR (US Strategic Petroleum Reserve) supplies,” Baden said. Moore, commodities analyst at National Australia Bank.
“I expect OPEC to be well positioned to manage supply to offset risks to demand,” he said.
Top members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their Russia-led allies, collectively known as OPEC+, began discussing a production cut ahead of their meeting on Wednesday, three people told Reuters.
Russia could suggest a reduction of up to 1 million barrels a day, a person familiar with Russian thinking on the matter said earlier this week.
“OPEC+ production in August was estimated to be around 3.37 million barrels per day below target production levels. So, in reality, any supply cuts will likely be lower than any figures announced by the group,” ING Economics said in a note.
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Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Emily Chow in Singapore; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Edwina Gibbs
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