On Friday, Brent oil futures increased, slightly erasing losses from the previous trading session. Traders were speculating on whether or not the OPEC+ producer group would agree on additional production restrictions, which led to the speculation.

After finishing with a loss of 0.7% in the previous session, the price of futures for Brent oil increased by 19 cents, equal to 0.23%, to $81.61 by 0800 GMT.

At the end of trading on Wednesday, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil cost $76.65, down 45 cents, or 0.58%, from the previous day’s price. Because Thursday is a holiday in the United States, there was no WTI settlement.

Both contracts are poised for their first weekly increase in five weeks, backed by predictions that Saudi Arabia-led OPEC+ might restrict supplies to balance the market until 2024. Both contracts are on pace for their first weekly gain in five weeks.

After producers had difficulty reaching a consensus on production levels, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, stunned the market with a statement on Wednesday that it would postpone a ministerial meeting by four days until November 30. This was done in response to the market’s reaction to the news.

“The most likely outcome now appears to be an extension of existing cuts,” IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a report for the company.

Brent futures dropped as much as 4%, and WTI futures dropped as much as 5% during the intraday session on Wednesday as a direct result of the unexpected postponement. During the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, they kept customers and merchants on the sidelines.

On the other hand, the economic forecast for the short term in China provided support for the market mood. According to Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets, recent statistics from China and further assistance for the over-leveraged property sector may be “positive for the oil market’s near-term trend.”

Thursday was good for Chinese equities as investors anticipated the government would further encourage the ailing real estate market.

Analysts believe that increased oil stocks in the United States and lousy refining margins will lead to decreased demand from U.S. refineries, keeping these benefits from reaching their full potential.

According to statements from ANZ experts in a note, “Fundamentals developments have been bearish with rising U.S. oil inventories.”

However, China’s longer-term prognosis is not very optimistic. Analysts predict that growth in oil demand may slow to about 4% during the first half of 2024 as a result of the strain the real estate market downturn has put on diesel usage.

It is anticipated that growth in non-OPEC production will continue to be robust. The Brazilian state energy firm Petrobras plans to invest $102 billion over the next five years to increase production to 3.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2028, up from 2.8 million boepd in 2024.