Oil prices remain steady ahead of OPEC+ meeting, EU Russian oil ban

Oil futures were broadly stable on Friday, but were poised to end the week up, ahead of a meeting by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Sunday and an EU ban on Russian crude oil kicking in on Monday.

Brent crude futures were up 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $87.02 per barrel by 1008 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures inched up 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $81.27 per barrel.

Both Brent and WTI had dipped earlier in the session, but were on track for their first weekly gains – the biggest in two months at around 4% and 6%, respectively – after three consecutive weeks of decline.