Oil Set for Deep Weekly Loss Even as OPEC+ Delays Adding Barrels

(Bloomberg) — Oil was poised for the deepest weekly loss in almost a year on persistent concerns about soft demand and ample supply, even as OPEC+ delayed a planned increase in output by two months.

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Brent crude edged higher toward $73 a barrel on Friday, but is down nearly 8% for the week, with West Texas Intermediate near $69. The alliance won’t boost output by 180,000 barrels a day in October and November, OPEC said in a statement, although its plan to revive 2.2 million barrels a day over the course of a year remains in place.

Oil has trended lower since early July on demand concerns from key consumers, particularly China, and signs of rising supply from outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Timespreads are also indicating weakness, with their bullish backwardation structure narrowing sharply, although recent disruptions to supplies from Libya have partially offset the price declines.

“We see the OPEC+ unwind delay, ongoing geopolitics and financial positioning providing price support at $70 to $72 Brent,” Citigroup Inc. analysts including Eric Lee said in a note. The bank said it sees “moves down to the $60 range in 2025 as a sizable market surplus emerges.”

There are also signs of poor demand in some refined products. Chinese and Indian diesel markets — which account for the bulk of Asian demand — are showing signs of a slowdown, with refining margins declining. That’s echoing trends in Europe, where benchmark futures hit the lowest since mid-2023 last week.

In the US, meanwhile, official data showed US commercial crude inventories dropped by almost 7 million barrels last week to the lowest in about a year.

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