Weak demand pushes oil prices lower

Oil prices fell in Asian trading on Friday, with the focus on weak demand after the OPEC+ alliance postponed a planned increase in supply and extended deep production cuts until the end of 2026.

Brent crude futures fell 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $72 a barrel by 0116 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $68.27 a barrel.

OPEC+ on Thursday postponed the start of increasing oil production by three months until April 2025, and extended the cuts by a year until the end of 2026 due to weak demand and rising production from outside the group, according to Reuters.

The alliance, which pumps about half the world’s crude, had planned to start easing production cuts from October 2024, but slowing global demand, especially in China, and rising production from outside the group, as well as other factors, have prompted the alliance to postpone those plans more than once.