Oil has been particularly volatile, with U.S. prices touching their lowest level of the year and then rallying by more than 10% in a matter of days, making a decision by major oil producers this weekend even more difficult. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, led by Russia — a group known as OPEC+ — are scheduled to hold an official meeting on Sunday. Reports have said that the gathering was changed from an in-person to virtual event.
The change to a virtual meeting “signals little likelihood that the group will change production,” said the Kansas City energy team at StoneX, in Thursday’s newsletter. “Earlier in the week, multiple sources signaled that the group would do another production cut with markets falling and demand risk at stake. However, it seems that the sentiment has changed,” they said. At their lowest points on Monday, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude touched $73.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest front-month intraday low since Dec. 27, 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Global benchmark Brent crude also traded as low as $80.61 on ICE Futures Europe, the lowest since Jan. 10.
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