Calm trend in oil

Oil settled after its biggest weekly loss in four weeks as focus shifted to Sunday’s OPEC+ supply meeting and U.S. demand at the start of the driving season. Brent futures fell 2.2% last week to hold above $82 a barrel after hitting their lowest level since early February, while U.S. crude is around $78. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will hold their policy meeting online and are widely expected to extend production cuts into the second half of 2024. “Based on current market expectations that OPEC+ could extend the cuts, the risks to oil are on the upside,” said Gao Jian, an analyst at Shandong-based Qisheng Futures Co. Markets in Britain and the U.S., where Memorial Day kicks off the summer driving season, are closed on Monday for a holiday. The number of people expected to fly over the weekend could reach the highest number in nearly 20 years, according to the American Automobile Association. Brent has risen nearly 7% this year, supported by persistent geopolitical risks and OPEC+’s 2 million barrels per day production cuts. Still, futures have been falling since mid-April as concerns eased that the Middle East conflict would spread and disrupt oil flows.