Oil futures have fallen significantly lower, down about 4.5% in the week

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – Despite expectations that OPEC+ will delay production increases, oil futures fell lower on Friday after the group announced that their meeting, originally scheduled for December 1, has been postponed until December 5.

Traders continued to monitor developments on the geopolitical front. Israel and Hezbollah exchange accusations of ceasefire violations.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures are down $0.72, or about 1.1%, at $68.00 a barrel in January. WTI crude oil futures fell about 4.5% this week.

Brent crude futures settled at $72.94 per barrel, down $0.34 or about 0.46%. Brent crude lost almost 3% this week.

The oil cartel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, is widely expected to decide on a further extension of production cuts at their upcoming meeting after considering uncertainties surrounding weather, demand and geopolitics.

Russia has launched a series of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, worsening the energy crisis across the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia’s actions as a “despicable escalation”, highlighting the use of cruise missiles carrying cluster munitions.