2021.07.2310:12:00UTC+00Oil Prices Little Changed After Strong Overnight Gains

Oil prices dipped slightly on Friday but were on track to end the week little changed amid expectations that the OPEC+ decision to increase crude oil production might not be enough to keep the oil market in balance.

Benchmark Brent crude futures were marginally lower at $73.77 a barrel, after having risen 2.2 percent on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 0.1 percent at $71.86 after a 2.3 percent gain in the previous session.

Oil futures plunged around 7 percent on Monday on concerns over the spread of the COVId-19 delta variant and worries about oversupply after OPEC and allied nations reached a tentative agreement to hike oil output.

Benchmark contracts recouped all of those losses and appear to end the week largely steady, underpinned by expectations that demand growth will outpace new supply, driven by the continued fall in oil stocks and rising rates of vaccinations.

Earlier this week, data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that gasoline stockpiles dropped by 100,000 barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles declined by about 1.3 million barrels.

The EIA report also showed a drop in crude stockpiles at the storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, to the lowest level in about seven months.