By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices slipped further into the third consecutive day on Friday as concerns about a slowed global economic growth put a stop to progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute.
Reports have it that the world’s two largest economies have been preparing for new talks and have been making assuring gestures ahead of the discussions.
Brent Crude traded at $60.25 per barrel after dropping 13 Cents or 0.22 percent as at 9 p.m. on Friday, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped below $55 as the US Crude lost 16 Cents or 0.29 percent to trade at $54.93 per barrel.
As for the OPEC Basket, It was trading down at $60.51 per barrel losing a $2.23 or 3.55 percent, while the Nigerian Crude wasn’t also exempted from the losses as it went down by 3.36 percent or $2.12 to trade at N61.00 per barrel.
Oil prices have also remained under pressure due to concerns about a weaker demand outlook that could lead to potential oversupply.
Earlier, both the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) said oil markets could end up in surplus next year, despite an agreement by OPEC and its allies to limit oil supplies due to the growth in U.S. production.
An OPEC+ monitoring committee came to terms with OPEC members Nigeria and Iraq to deliver their share of the cut, something they have failed to do so far, but the group has not decided to deepen the curbs.
Experts noted that in order to avoid a price slide and a massive inventory build, OPEC+ would need to implement further voluntary production cuts.
Some OPEC delegates say the idea of a larger cut for next year is gaining support, commenting on this, the Saudi Arabia’s new energy minister said talks on that issue would be left until the next OPEC+ meeting in December.
Dipo Olowookere