Early trading on Friday found oil prices steady as investors weighed worries about Middle East supply interruptions with indications of declining demand.
While the more extensively traded November contract was down 7 cents, or 0.09 percent, at $78.75 a barrel, Brent crude futures for October delivery, which expire on Friday, changed relatively little at 0033 GMT.
Falling 11 cents, or 0.14 percent, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures dropped to $75.80.
On Thursday, both crudes jumped more than a dollar at settlement on worries about oil supplies.
After a conflict between opposing political factions, more than half of Libya’s oil output—roughly 700,000 barrels daily—was shut down on Thursday and shipments were suspended at multiple ports.
Consultancy Rapidan Energy Group estimates that Libya’s output losses could last several weeks and range in daily count from 900,000 to 1 million barrels.
Iraqi supplies, meantime, are also set to drop with the nation’s output surpassing its agreed quota with OPEC+, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Thursday.
Next month Iraq intends to reduce daily oil output to between 3.85 million and 3.9 million barrels.
Still, oil prices are headed towards declining for the second month running.
Wednesday’s 1% drop in oil prices followed data showing U.S. crude stocks dropped less than expected, falling by 846,000 barrels to 425.2 million barrels, compared with a 2.3 million-barrel drop predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll.
“The market is worried about the medium-term outlook while oil budgets for 2025 look weak,” ANZ bank analysts in a note remarked.
“We believe OPEC will have no choice but to delay the phasing-down of voluntary production cuts if it wants higher prices,” they said.
From October 2024 to September 2025, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+, are set to progressively stop voluntary production cutbacks of 2.2 million barrels daily.
