Oil Prices Mixed as Investors Look to Weekly Oil Rig Numbers
Investing.com - Oil prices were mixed on Friday, as investors looked ahead to weekly supply data and an upcoming OPEC meeting.
West Texas Crude oil futures for November rose 0.09% to $70.38 a barrel as of 11:31 AM ET (15:31 GMT). Meanwhile Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., decreased 0.11% to $78.61.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia and its allies are scheduled to gather in Algeria on Sunday to discuss how to allocate higher supply to offset the shortage of Iranian supplies. The sanctions, which are expected to go into effect on Nov. 4, have already caused Iran’s crude exports to fall.
A supply change on Sunday is not expected, as that would require OPEC to hold an "extraordinary meeting", which is not on the agenda.
U.S. President Donald Trump put increased pressure on the organization on Thursday, asking. OPEC to keep prices lower.
“We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!” he said in a tweet.
Investors are also looking ahead to the weekly oil rig count data, which is expected at 1:00 PM ET (15:00 GMT) and is a leading indicator of demand for oil products.
In other energy trading, gasoline RBOB futures rose 0.06% at $2.0158 a gallon, while heating oil decreased 0.10% to $2.2257 a gallon. Natural gas futures slipped 0.20% to $2.970 per million British thermal units.
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