Oil Suffers Monthly Loss as Trump's Tariffs Make Beijing Request Negotiations With U.S.

Meanwhile, OPEC accelerates talks to determine if output rate should increase: File Image/Pixabay

Following its steepest monthly decline in four years, oil on Friday posted its biggest weekly loss since March as traders braced for a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), where members will decide on accelerating output in June.

West Texas Intermediate settled down 95 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $58.29 per barrel, while Brent settled down 84 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $61.29 per barrel; for the week, WRTI lost about 5.5 percent and Brent fell over 8 percent.

The OPEC meeting will occur on Saturday instead of Monday, although it wasn't disclosed why, but the expectation in these bearish times was that the cartel will accelerate output and flood what is perceived to be a strained market demand-wise.

Bloomberg on Friday surmised that, "Another aggressive supply boost from the cartel threatens to batter a market already pressured by soft Chinese demand and plentiful output from outside the group."

The news agency added that the increase "would be in line with figures previously telegraphed by the group and roughly matches last month's shock hike, which was seen as a bid to discipline over-producing members."

Meanwhile, China on Friday said it was considering a proposal from U.S. president Donald Trump to hold trade talks; but traders seemed cautious about this prospect: "The signs are only very tentative," said Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

Michael Lynch, president at Strategic Energy & Economic Research, said, "The market is getting tugged between a possible tariff-derived recession, but fluctuating expectations about negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, and the Ukrainian talks, either one of which might lead to increased supplies, plus the apparent moves by OPEC+ to unwind quotas in a weak market."

But China remains the chief focus of traders' and analysts/ concerns, especially when its manufacturing PMI slumped to 49.0 in April, signalling contraction and raising alarm over the health of the world's largest crude importer.