Oil prices witnessed a decline of more than 2% on Friday, driven by investor skepticism regarding the effectiveness of OPEC+ supply cuts and concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude futures for February settled down at $78.88 a barrel, marking a 2.45% decrease, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropped to $74.07 a barrel, reflecting a 2.49% decline. Despite OPEC+ agreeing to remove around 2.2 million barrels per day from the global market in Q1 2023, traders expressed skepticism, with concerns about compliance and effectiveness. The voluntary nature of the cuts raised doubts about full implementation and measurement basis.
Oil prices slide over 2% amid doubts on OPEC+ cuts and global economic slowdown.
