Oil prices rise, record weekly losses ahead of OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices rose, on Friday, Sept. 2, but recorded weekly losses amid investors’ anticipation of OPEC+ meeting this week.

The G7 countries agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil, coinciding with the imposition of European sanctions against Moscow, which is scheduled to start on Dec. 5.

Accordingly, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would not sell oil to the countries supporting a price ceiling for Russian crude.

On the other hand, OPEC+ is heading to maintain oil output in the next meeting slated for Sept. 5. However, the idea of ​​reducing production is not ruled out, especially after the recent drop in oil prices, Reuters reported.

The US drilling rig count declined nine units last week to 596 in the week ended Sept. 2, General Electric Co.’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.

Investors are also watching diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which could lead to significant flows of crude if US sanctions are lifted. Meanwhile, the US State Department said Iran's latest response was not constructive.

Brent crude futures for November delivery increased 0.7%, or $0.66, to $93.02 a barrel, recording weekly losses of 6.04%.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.3%, or $0.26 a barrel, to $86.87 a barrel, but recorded a weekly decline of 6.6%.