Crude oil prices softened on Friday, putting the market on course for a nearly 3% weekly decline, as traders digested the planned summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and renewed signals of a potential supply glut.
Brent crude futures eased 16 cents, or 0.26%, to $60.90 a barrel at 06:45 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures slipped 15 cents, or 0.26%, to $57.31.
Geopolitical backdrop shifts
Thursday’s surprise announcement of a new Trump-Putin summit in Hungary — expected to take place within the next two weeks — added to market volatility. The meeting comes as Moscow grows uneasy over possible fresh U.S. military aid to Kyiv.
The development aligns with Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington, where the Ukrainian leader is seeking additional military support, including Tomahawk long-range missiles. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have intensified pressure on India and China to curb their Russian oil imports.
“Concerns of tighter supplies were eased after it was announced that Trump would be meeting with Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine,” said Daniel Hynes, analyst at ANZ.
Supply pressures build
Fresh supply data added further headwinds. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an unexpected build of 3.5 million barrels in crude inventories last week, taking total stockpiles to 423.8 million barrels. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a much smaller increase of 288,000 barrels.
The larger-than-expected rise in inventories reflected lower refinery runs as plants entered seasonal maintenance. At the same time, U.S. oil production climbed to a record 13.636 million barrels per day, highlighting persistent supply strength.
The bearish sentiment was compounded by a recent forecast from the International Energy Agency, which projected a surplus in global supply by 2026.
Brent and WTI futures both settled more than 1% lower in the previous session, closing at their lowest levels since May 5.
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