Oil Up, But Heads Towards Big Weekly Decline Over COVID-19, OPEC+ Deal Uncertainty
Brent Oil was trading 0.11% up at $73.55 Oil was up Friday morning in Asia, but was headed towards the biggest weekly decline since mid-March 2021. Worsening outbreaks of COVID-19 involving the Delta variant in some countries and uncertainty over an OPEC deal to boost supply clouded the short-term outlook for the black liquid, however. Brent Oil Futures were steady at $73.47 by 12:58 PM ET (4:58 AM GMT) and WTI Futures inched up 0.08% to $71.71. COVID-19 outbreaks involving the Delta variant have prompted some countries to tighten restrictive measures, thus crimping fuel demand. Indonesia surpassed India in new daily COVID-19 cases during the past week, becoming Asia Pacific’s new virus epicenter in the process. A second Australian city entered a lockdown as Melbourne joined Sydney, which in turn extended current restrictions through the end of July. In the U.S., Los Angeles County mandated the wearing of face masks indoors, including those who h...