Petroleum futures were little changed by midday Friday, ahead of a closely watched OPEC+ meeting this weekend, while refined products are on track to post a small weekly loss on expectations of high interest rates for the rest of the year.
At 11:35 a.m. ET, July-delivered NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell around 70cts to $77.25/bbl, and August WTI was down 60cts to $76.95/bbl.
London-based July Brent slipped 20cts to $81.65/bbl and August Brent fell 55cts to $81.35/bbl.
For the week, the crude benchmarks are set for weekly drops between 50cts and $1.
Most active July NYMEX RBOB was ahead by about 0.9ct to $2.4125/gal and front-month June RBOB climbed 1.2ct to $2.465/gal.
Meanwhile, diesel futures have so far underperformed those of gasoline Friday.
July ULSD was 0.75ct lower at $2.384/gal and June ULSD fell 1.1cts to $2.3585/gal.
Both RBOB and ULSD are on track for a loss of about 5cts for the week.
Jitters over recent comments by Federal Reserve policymakers to keep benchmark U.S. interest rates at a 20-year high have dampened the appeal for equities and energy commodities like petroleum futures.
All eyes are now on Sunday's policy meeting of OPEC and its allies including Russia, a group also known as OPEC+. The group is currently working on a deal to extend its production cuts into 2025, according to a Reuters report Friday, citing three sources familiar with OPEC+ discussions.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-31-24 1216ET
