Riyadh: According to Reuters, oil prices declined in early trade on Friday due to conflicting messages from Saudi Arabia and Russia ahead of the upcoming policy meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Allies, or OPEC+, as well as a stronger dollar.
At 3:15 a.m. GMT, Brent crude was down 30 cents to $75.96 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate was down 14 cents to $71.69 per barrel.
After Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak downplayed the possibility of further OPEC+ production cuts at its meeting in Vienna on June 4, benchmarks ended the day more than $2 per barrel lower.
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However, both prices were still expected to record gains of just under 1% for a second straight week.
According to senior market analyst Edward Moya, "Crude prices are declining as the king dollar makes a comeback and after Russia destroyed any Saudi hope of delivering another production cut at the June 4 meeting."
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Energy prices were approaching "economically justified" levels, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also hinted that the group's production policy wouldn't change right away.
Their statements stood in contrast to those made this week by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's energy minister, who advised short sellers to "watch out."
That was interpreted by some investors as a sign that OPEC+ might consider further output cuts.
As a rising rift could increase the likelihood that the 23-nation alliance could break up, OPEC+ watchers always pay close attention to communication between Russia and Saudi Arabia, Moya added.
Oil futures were further pressured to the downside by the stronger dollar, which has increased for a fifth straight session against a basket of major peers as US data showed that the economy is still robust despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hike cycle.
Dollar-denominated goods become more expensive for holders of other currencies, which reduces demand.
As US President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy appeared to be close to a deal to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling, markets continued to monitor US debt talks.
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Positively, May supplies from OPEC+ and Russia largely decreased in accordance with the earlier agreement for additional output cuts.
In accordance with earlier cuts, OPEC+ members had decreased their exports by 1.5 million barrels per day as of last week, while Russian exports had decreased by 400,000 barrels per day from their respective peaks on April 25.
According to a note from JP Morgan analysts, the total exports from members of the OPEC+ alliance decreased by 1.4 million bpd from one month to the next by May 23.