International oil prices fell under pressure on Friday (May 30) due to the possible increase in production by the oil league and Sino-US trade news.
The price fluctuation range of US WTI crude oil futures on Friday reached about US$2, and the decline eventually narrowed to 0.25%, at $60.79 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures fell 0.90%, and closed at $62.78 per barrel on Friday.
Reuters reported that U.S. crude oil prices fell as traders expect OPEC+ to decide on Saturday (May 31) to raise oil production in July to exceed previously expected levels.
It is said that the Oil League+ is considering increasing daily production by more than 411,000 barrels in July to compete for market share. This will expand the oversupply of crude oil, which is detrimental to oil prices. Analysts at JP Morgan predicted in a report that oil prices will maintain their current volatility range and will further fall above $55 a barrel by the end of the year.
On the other hand, according to Bloomberg, U.S. President Trump said China violated the trade agreement and threatened to expand restrictions on the technology industry. This has once again raised concerns that the U.S.-China trade war will ultimately affect oil demand. This concern has led to a decline in crude oil futures prices. Trump later expressed his willingness to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the decline in crude oil futures prices narrowed.
The increase in production may have led hedge funds to short oil, and according to Bloomberg, the short bets of hedge funds on Brent crude oil have risen to their highest level since October.