
WTI Crude Oil Trades Steady as US Markets Close for Thanksgiving
WTI crude oil prices are holding steady early on Friday as the US markets remain closed for Thanksgiving holidays. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $58.02 per barrel.
Amid the absence of market moving news, crude oil is trading cautious in anticipation of the upcoming meeting between OPEC members and their allies in Vienna next week. Expectations are high that OPEC+ could announce an extension on crude production curbs from March 2020 to around mid-2020.
On Thursday, Russian oil companies agreed to keep their output quotas steady until March 2020 in keeping with OPEC’s decision to curtail crude oil production in the face of weakening demand. Meanwhile, US-China trade tensions continue to remain in focus in global financial markets after the US signed into law two bills in support of Hong Kong protests, angering China.
China has stated that it will retaliate to this move, which has raised concerns that the phase one trade deal between the two countries could get affected and possibly delayed. This is likely to exert downward pressure on crude oil prices in the coming days.