By Shariq Khan
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices fell 1% on Friday and were set for their biggest weekly losses since the end of March, as traders turned cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting to decide the group’s output policy for June.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.11, or 1.9%, to $58.13 a barrel at 1:23 p.m. ET (1723 GMT). Brent crude futures were down 94 cents, or 1.5%, to $61.19 a barrel.
For the week, Brent was on track to fall about 8.6% and WTI about 8%.
The OPEC+ meeting was moved up to Saturday from the original plan of Monday, three sources told Reuters on Friday, although it was not immediately clear why the meeting was rescheduled.
Members of the group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, are deliberating whether to make another accelerated oil output increase in June or stick with a smaller hike, two of the sources said.
Either way, oil traders braced for more supply from the group, at a time when fears of an economic slowdown caused by a trade war between the U.S. and China have prompted market experts to lower demand growth expectations for this year.
“This market is all about OPEC now with even the tariff war taking a back seat,” United ICAP energy specialist Scott Shelton said.
Reuters reported this week that officials from Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC+, have briefed allies and industry experts that they are unwilling to prop up oil markets with further supply cuts.
OPEC+ is currently cutting output by over 5 million barrels per day.
Traders were also cautious given the possibility of a de-escalation of the trade dispute between China and the United States, after Beijing on Friday said it was evaluating a proposal from Washington to hold talks to address U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“There is some optimism when it comes to U.S.-China relations but the signs are only very tentative,” Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group, said. “It’s still very fluid, a one step forward, two steps back situation when it comes to tariffs.”
Friday’s oil price decline was kept in check by rising equity markets, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, as Wall Street climbed after U.S. jobs data showed payrolls increased more than expected last month.
A threat by Trump on Thursday to impose secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil also helped ease some of the pressure on oil prices, as it could tighten global supply.
The threat, which came after U.S. talks with Iran over its nuclear programme were postponed, could also complicate trade talks with China, which is the world’s largest importer of Iran’s crude.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan, Anna Hirtenstein, Robert Harvey and Mohi Narayan; Editing by Nia WilliamsEditing by Marguerita Choy and Barbara Lewis)
