While Brent and WTI are experiencing their longest decline since 2023 due to rising supply risks rose on Friday
Energy | Petroleum

While Brent and WTI are experiencing their longest decline since 2023 due to rising supply risks rose on Friday

Brent crude futures rose on Friday as prolonged Russia-Ukraine peace talks kept geopolitical risks high. Investors are awaiting the results of Sunday's OPEC+ meeting for clues about potential production changes.

However, WTI Crude futures were frozen following a system outage at exchange operator CME Group. The CME system outage halted trading.

Investors said they were notified by CME just before 03:00 GMT of a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers, affecting trading of all futures and options contracts on Globex.

Brent crude is traded on the Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE.

Brent crude futures, due on Friday, rose 24 cents, or 0.38%, to $63.58 a barrel by 04:52 GMT, after closing 21 cents higher on Thursday. The more active February contract was trading 23 cents higher at $63.10.

WTI settled at $59.08 a barrel, up 43 cents, or 0.73%. There were no closings on Thursday due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Both contracts are on their fourth consecutive monthly loss, their longest losing streak since 2023, as global supply expectations weigh on prices.

Signs that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia may be imminent sent oil prices sharply lower earlier this week, but they have rebounded in the last three sessions as negotiations drag on.

Brent and WTI are set to close this week with gains of over 1%. A final peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine could pave the way for easing sanctions on Russian oil producers and increasing global supply, but the pace of negotiations makes such an outcome unlikely.

Putin said on Thursday that draft peace proposals discussed by the US and Ukraine could form the basis for future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine, but otherwise, Russia will continue its fight.

Putin added that Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, plans to visit Moscow early next week.

Zelenskiy said Ukrainian and US delegations will meet in Geneva this week to work out a solution.

Market participants are hesitant to take an aggressive stance until tangible progress or a collapse occurs.

OPEC+ is likely to keep oil production levels unchanged at its meetings on Sunday, and members are likely to agree on a mechanism to assess maximum production capacity.

Oil prices were supported by rising market expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) could boost economic growth and energy demand by cutting interest rates next month.

The number of oil rigs operating in the US, which fell to a four-year low this week, also supported prices.