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Summary
- Brent and WTI down more than 4% this week
- Supply glut remains main market focus
- US plans to seize more tankers off Venezuela coast, sources say
(Reuters) – 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, amid concerns over Venezuelan oil supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures were down 19 cents, or 0.31%, to $61.09 a barrel at 1125 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 15 cents, or 0.26%, at $57.45. Both benchmarks fell by about 1.5% on Thursday.
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.
Meanwhile, 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.
The Brent and WTI benchmarks have so far lost more than 4% this week, reflecting broader market uncertainties.
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.
Data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries indicated that world oil supply would demand closely in 2026, an outlook that contrasts with projections from the International Energy Agency but which is more bearish than earlier this year when OPEC saw demand outstripping supply.
Reporting by Seher Dareen in London, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Siyi Liu in Singapore. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter
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