Crude oil futures fell slightly on Friday (November 28th) as investors weighed the geopolitical risk premium on oil amid protracted Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while keeping an eye on Sunday's OPEC+ meeting for clues on potential production changes.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures 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 is traded on the Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE.

Brent crude futures for January, which expire on Friday, closed down 14 cents, or 0.22%, at $63.20 per barrel. The more active February contract closed at $62.38, down 49 cents from Thursday's close.

WTI crude oil closed at $58.55 a barrel, down 10 cents, or 0.17%, from Wednesday's close. There was no settlement on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

LONGEST CRASH SINCE 2023

Despite rising about 1% for the week, both contracts closed down for the fourth straight month, the longest losing streak since 2023, as expectations of higher global supply weighed on prices.

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

US oil production rose to a record high in September, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Friday, deepening concerns that the market is heading towards a surplus.

US crude oil production rose by 44,000 barrels per day in September to a record 13.84 million barrels per day, according to EIA data. A Reuters survey of 35 economists and analysts showed respondents expected Brent prices to average $62.23 per barrel in 2026, down from an October forecast of $63.15. LSEG data shows that the benchmark price has averaged $68.80 per barrel so far in 2025.

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. "Oil futures have been anticipating some kind of peace deal, which continues to weigh on prices," Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, said in a note on Friday.

"However, little is known at this point, and the absence of a deal would likely result in tighter sanctions on Russian oil exports." On Sunday, OPEC+ is likely to keep oil production levels unchanged at its meetings 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