Photo caption: Oil
*Oil set for fourth monthly drop on glut outlook
Oil headed for a fourth monthly loss, as traders looked ahead to an OPEC+ meeting this weekend and gauged how a potential Ukraine peace deal may impact an oversupplied market.
Brent steadied above $63 a barrel, after a modest advance on Thursday, as an outage on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange caused disruptions to markets across equities, foreign exchange, bonds and commodities. The global benchmark was set for the longest streak of monthly drops since May 2023.
West Texas Intermediate futures were near $59 after resuming trading on Nymex following an earlier hours-long outage. The halt — which the company said was a result of a cooling issue in a data center — also impacted gasoline and diesel futures that are due to expire on Friday.
OPEC+ nations meet virtually on Sunday and will probably stick with a plan to pause output increases in early 2026, delegates said. With that decision locked in, a key focus may be a long-term review of members’ capacity.
Brent oil has fallen 15% this year, with prices hurt by expectations for a global glut after OPEC+ restarted capacity, while drillers outside the alliance also added supplies.
On Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that US President Donald Trump’s proposals for ending the war could be the basis for future agreements and expressed an openness to talks, though sticking points that led to stalemates in previous rounds remain. US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow next week.
Brent oil has fallen 15% this year, with prices hurt by expectations for a global glut after OPEC+ restarted capacity, while drillers outside the alliance also added supplies.
On Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that US President Donald Trump’s proposals for ending the war could be the basis for future agreements and expressed an openness to talks, though sticking points that led to stalemates in previous rounds remain. US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow next week.
=== Bloomberg ===
