Oil prices steadied after their biggest weekly loss in four, with focus on Sunday's OPEC+ meeting and U.S. demand at the start of the summer driving season.
Brent crude futures settled above $82 a barrel after falling 2.2% last week to touch their lowest since early February, while West Texas Intermediate crude approached $78.
OPEC and its allies will hold their meeting online, and are widely expected to extend production cuts into the second half of 2024.
“Based on current market expectations that OPEC+ is likely to extend the cuts, the risks for oil are tilted to the upside,” said Gao Jian, an analyst at Shandong-based Qisheng Futures.
Markets are closed on Monday in the UK and US for Memorial Day, the start of the summer driving season.
The number of people expected to travel over the weekend may be the highest in nearly 20 years, according to the American Automobile Association.
Brent crude has risen about 7% this year, supported by ongoing geopolitical risks and OPEC+’s 2 million barrels per day of production cuts. However, futures have retreated since mid-April as concerns about the spread of conflict in the Middle East and disruption to oil flows have eased.
