Oil closes lower; Brent holds above $83

Oil drilling rigs

Oil closed lower today, May 20, following a volatile session as markets evaluated geopolitical developments and their expected impact on global oil markets, ahead of the OPEC+ meeting on June 1.

Brent crude futures for July delivery fell by 0.3%, or 27 cents, to close at $83.71 per barrel, after touching $84.49.

WTI crude for June delivery declined 0.3%, or 26 cents, to record $79.80 per barrel, after hitting $80.60.

Alexander Kuptsikevich, Senior Market Analyst at FXPro Trading, said: “The death of the Iranian president would enhance the risk premium in oil prices, but data related to the American oil industry indicate a relative stagnation. Current prices are neutral for the industry, and do not create Incentives to increase production.”

Data from the US Energy Information Administration last week showed that crude production in the US stabilized at 13.1 million barrels per day over the past ten weeks, Market Watch reported.