Oil edged lower after a fifth weekly gain as investors weighed civil strife across the U.S. and deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing against signs that OPEC+ is considering extending output cuts.
Futures in New York declined around 1% to near $35 a barrel after swinging between gains and losses earlier. OPEC and its allies will discuss prolonging production curbs by one to three months, according to a delegate, as the cartel considers bringing forward its next meeting a few days to June 4. The current agreement calls for the output cuts to ease from July.
The positive news on supply came as violent protests in dozens of U.S. cities sparked by the death of an unarmed black man in police custody clouded the demand outlook in the world’s largest economy and also stoked concerns about a second wave of infections. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s response on Friday to China’s moves to assert more control over Hong Kong stopped short of imposing immediate sanctions, aiding market sentiment.
