LONDON: Oil prices inched lower on Friday and were on track for a weekly decline as investors focussed on a supply glut and potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal, which outweighed concerns over Venezuelan supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures were down 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.14 a barrel at 1441 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 3 cents at $57.57. Both benchmarks fell by about 1.5% on Thursday.
While there might be sporadic support from hits to supply, the general market mood reflects supply exceeding demand, and any rallies are expected to be brief, said PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga.
Brent and WTI have lost more than 4% this week. International Energy Agency forecasts published on Thursday indicated that global oil supply will exceed demand by 3.84 million barrels per day next year – a volume equal to almost 4% of world demand.
Data in OPEC’s report, also issued on Thursday, indicated that world oil supply will match demand closely in 2026, in contrast to the IEA’s view.
Some price-supportive factors remain, including the ramping up of tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela and Ukrainian drone strikes on a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea, said Janiv Shah, analyst at Rystad Energy.
The U.S. is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil after the seizure of a tanker this week, six sources close to the matter said on Thursday.
Russia’s seaborne oil product exports in November fell by just 0.8% from October, with the completion of refinery maintenance helping to offset a slump in fuel exports from southern routes such as the Black Sea and Azov Sea, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed.
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