Doha: Oil prices fell $2 a barrel on Friday around concerns of a possible increase in production by OPEC and its allies, while a weaker-than-expected US jobs report fed worries about demand.
Brent crude futures settled at $69.67 a barrel, down $2.03, or 2.83%.
US West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $67.33 a barrel, down $1.93, or 2.79%. Brent finished the week with a gain near 6%, while WTI rose 6.29%.
According to analysts at Al Attiyah Foundation, OPEC members and allied producers known as OPEC+ may reach an agreement as early as Sunday to boost production by 548,000 barrels per day in September.
Meanwhile, the US Labor Department said the country added 73,000 jobs in July, lower than economists had forecast, raising the national unemployment rate to 4.2% from 4.1%.
Analysts suggests recent economic issues could be due to either US tariffs or the Federal Reserve’s decision not to raise interest rates. On Wednesday, the Fed voted to keep interest rates unchanged, drawing criticism from Trump and a chorus of Republican legislators.
Oil traders have focused for much of the week on the potential impact of U.S. tariffs, with tariff rates on US trading partners largely set to take effect from next Friday. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on US imports from dozens of countries and foreign territories that failed to reach trade deals by his Aug. 1 deadline, including Canada, India and Taiwan.
Asian spot LNG prices inched up after two previous weeks of declines as geopolitical risk factors including US threats of sanctions on energy producer Russia, and supply concerns lent support.
The average LNG price for September delivery into Northeast Asia was at $12.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up from $11.90 per mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated. Geopolitics was back on stage with the threat of sanctions on offtakers of Russian oil and gas, potentially tightening the market if LNG is purchased elsewhere, but it remains unclear how things will turn out, analysts said. US President Donald Trump has threatened sanctions on both Russia and buyers of its exports unless Moscow makes progress toward ending the war in Ukraine by August 8.
However, LNG supply tightness from Italy’s Rovigo maintenance and intensified Egyptian procurement activity may introduce upward risk.
