Brent crude deepens losses, records lowest close since mid-July

Oil drilling rigs

Oil closed lower today, Dec. 5, after Russia said OPEC+ was ready to deepen production cuts during Q1 2024, if the current measures were not sufficient to control the markets. The prices were also affected by the calls to officially phase out fossil fuels.

Brent crude futures for February delivery fell by approximately 1%, or 83 cents, to close at $77.2 per barrel on Dec. 5, marking the lowest close since July 17. The benchmark grade rose to $79.09 per barrel during the session.

WTI crude for January delivery fell by approximately 1%, or 72 cents, to $72.32 per barrel – the lowest close since July 10 – after prices rose during the session to $74.12 per barrel.

“Russia, for its part, fully confirms its commitment to agreements on additional voluntary reduction of exports of oil and petroleum products by 500,000 barrels per day, starting from January 2024,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

The American Petroleum Institute's report on oil inventories is expected to be issued later today, and the US Energy Information Administration is scheduled to issue official data on inventories on Dec. 6, amid expectations that crude inventories will fall by 2.9 million barrels.