Brent crude oil futures were flat on Friday (November 28th), while U.S. crude prices edged higher as protracted Russia-Ukraine peace talks kept geopolitical risks high, and traders continued to monitor Sunday's OPEC+ meeting for clues on potential production changes.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices resumed trading after being frozen due to a system outage at exchange operator CME Group, caused by a cooling issue at its CyrusOne data center. Brent oil is traded on the Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE.

Front-month Brent crude oil futures for January, which expire on Friday, fell 6 cents, or 0.09%, to $63.28 a barrel at 10:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT). The more active February contract traded at $62.96, up 9 cents, or 0.14%.

WTI crude oil traded at $59.23 per barrel, up 58 cents, or 0.99%, from Wednesday's close. There was no settlement on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

LONGEST LOSS SINCE 2023

Both contracts are headed for a fourth consecutive monthly loss, the longest losing streak since 2023, as expectations of higher global supply weighed on prices, despite rising more than 1% over the week.

Strengthened fuel refining profit margins have supported crude demand in some areas, but the bearish impact of an expected oil surplus is weighing on prices, said Rystad analyst Janiv Shah.

A Reuters survey of 35 economists and analysts showed they expect Brent to average $62.23 per barrel in 2026, down from an October forecast of $63.15. The benchmark has averaged $68.80 per barrel so far in 2025, according to LSEG data.

Signs that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia was likely to be reached pushed oil prices sharply lower earlier this week, but prices have recovered over the past three sessions as negotiations drag on.

"Expectations of a peace deal have put downward pressure on prices. However, little is known at this point, and a failure to reach an agreement would likely result in tighter sanctions on Russian oil exports," Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, said in a note on Friday.

On Sunday, OPEC+ is likely to maintain oil production levels at its meeting and agree on a mechanism to assess members' maximum production capacity, two delegates from the group and a source familiar with the group's discussions told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is expected to lower its January crude oil prices for Asian buyers for a second month to a five-year low, under pressure from abundant supplies and the prospect of a surplus, sources told Reuters on Friday. (alg)

Source: Reuters.com