Brent Crude Falls Below $86 Ahead OPEC+

Brent crude futures fell to $85.4 per barrel on Friday, as investors await the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday.

Despite some speculation that major oil producers could cut output further, the cartel is expected to stick to its latest target of reducing oil production by 2 million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, the latest data from Baker Hughes showed US oil rig count, an indicator of future production remained unchanged this week.

Poland agreed to the EU's deal for a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, allowing the bloc to move forward with formally approving the deal over the weekend.

For the week, oil rose about 5%, the first weekly gain since early November, benefiting mainly from China’s softening stance on Covid that sparked hopes for a rebound in demand from the world’s top crude importer.

On the supply side, the latest data showed that US crude inventories fell by nearly 13 million barrels last week, the most since June 2019.