Oil prices drop as market targets OPEC+ output hike

Oil prices were on track for a second consecutive weekly decline on Friday, May 30, 2025, following expectations of another OPEC+ output hike in July.

Brent crude futures slipped 21 cents, or 0.33%, to $63.94 a barrel by 0626 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 22 cents, or 0.36%, to $60.72 a barrel, while the Brent July futures contract is due to expire on Friday.

Both contracts have fallen 1.3% so far this week, Reuters reported.

The downward trajectory largely stemmed from the prospect of rising supplies as investors priced in another hike by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, when eight of its members meet on Saturday.

Chevron to sack 200 workers in Texas

“The stage is set for another bumper production increase,” Westpac’s head of commodity and carbon research, Robert Rennie, said in a note, potentially more than the 411,000 barrels-per-day hike decided on at the previous two meetings.

The potential hike comes as the global surplus has widened to 2.2 million bpd, likely necessitating a price adjustment to prompt a supply-side response and restore balance, said JPMorgan analysts in a note.

The analysts expect prices to remain within current ranges before easing into the high $50s by year-end.

The Star