OPEC+ Stick To Output Plans, Oil Prices Dip – 2 February, 2022

Oil prices dipped following weak U.S. payroll data and tightening supply by OPEC+ producers. Brent crude was 17 cents or 0.2% to $89.30 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% or 31 cents to $87.95 per barrel, after gaining 6 cents the previous session. U.S. private payrolls eased for the first time in a year in for the first month of 2022, raising the risk of a sharp decline in employment that would deal a temporary setback to the labour market. Tighter supply and geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have caused prices to rise by roughly 15%, with crude benchmarks hitting their highest since October 2014. U.S. crude rose to as much as $89.72 on Wednesday and Brent touched $91.70 on Friday. OPEC+ agreed this week to stick to moderate rises of 400,000 barrels per day despite pressure from top consumers to raise output more quickly.