Oil settles lower ahead of OPEC+ decision
(This Nov. 24 story has been corrected to add weekly loss data in paragraph 2 and show that there was no weekly oil price gain in the headline and paragraph 1)
By Laura Sanicola
(Reuters) — Oil fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced the geopolitical risk premium ahead of next week's OPEC+ meeting to decide on production cuts in 2024.
Brent crude futures settled down 84 cents, or 1%, at $80.58 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.56, or 2%, from Wednesday's close to $75.54. There was no settlement for WTI on Thursday owing to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Brent settled 3 cents lower on the week while WTI fell 35 cents from last Friday's settlement.
The first group of hostages freed from captivity in Gaza returned to Israel on Friday, on the first day of a planned four-day truce during which further exchanges of hostages for Palestinian detainees are due to take place.
«The fact that they followed through was significant for reducing the risk premium,» said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
Both contracts had their first weekly gain in five weeks as OPEC+ prepares for a meeting that will have output cuts high on the agenda after recent oil price declines on demand concerns and burgeoning supply, particularly from non-OPEC producers.
The OPEC+ group, comprising of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, surprised the market on Wednesday by delaying its Nov. 26 to Nov. 30 after producers struggled to reach a consensus on output levels.
OPEC+ has moved closer to a compromise with African oil producers on 2024 output levels, three OPEC+ sources have told Reuters.
«The most likely outcome now appears to be an
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