Oil markets are declining.. NYMEX is heading to incur weekly losses of 0.5%

By 0300 GMT, Brent crude fell 51 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $75.75 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 30 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $71.53 a barrel.

US crude is heading towards a weekly loss of about 0.5 percent, while Brent crude is moving towards a slight weekly loss of 0.03 percent.

The two crude oil recorded a decline of more than two dollars a barrel when settling yesterday, Thursday, after the TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying that he did not expect new steps from the OPEC + bloc during its meeting in Vienna on the fourth of June.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said energy prices were approaching “economically justifiable” levels, which also indicated that there might not be an immediate change in the alliance’s production policy.

On the other hand, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stressed this week that the coalition will continue to work proactively, preventively, and hedge against what might come in the future, regardless of any criticism.

During a speech on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum, the minister added that “OPEC +” has 3 goals, which are “vigilance, initiative, and hedging of what may come in the future,” as he put it.

He said he would keep short sellers “in pain” and called on them to “be careful”. Beware.”

Some oil market participants interpreted this as a sign that OPEC+ may be looking for further production cuts.

Markets continue to monitor the US debt ceiling talks, as President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy seemed close to reaching an agreement to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling.

The dollar rose for the fifth consecutive session against a basket of currencies, which also curbed the rise in oil prices.

A rising US currency makes commodities denominated in it more expensive for holders of other currencies, which dampens demand.

The dollar received a boost after the release of the Fed’s latest minutes, which showed division among members over whether or not to continue raising interest rates, adding to expectations of a possible 25 basis point rate hike from the Fed at its June meeting.

The minutes showed that some members indicated the continued need for more rate hikes, while others indicated that the slowdown in economic growth ends the argument behind continuing monetary tightening.

It is noteworthy that the US Federal Reserve had approved 10 consecutive increases in interest rates since March 2022, to reach the range of 5% and 5.25%, compared to a level near zero more than a year ago, in an effort to control inflation.