Oil prices are on the rise Friday morning due to concerns of further production cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) whose committee meets later on Friday. Oil prices are about to reach the sixth consecutive week of price increases, which is the longest period this year of weekly increases.

A barrel of the European reference oil, Brent, costs USD 85.23 on Friday morning, compared to USD 84.17 on Thursday afternoon. At the same time, US WTI oil is trading at USD 81.72 compared to USD 80.57 on Thursday afternoon.

Ahead of the OPEC+ meeting, the Saudi Arabian government has extended its voluntary production cuts of 1 million barrels of oil per day until the end of September. The Russian government has also announced that it will cut production by 300,000 barrels per day in September, Reuters reports.

According to sources who have spoken to Reuters, it is unlikely that the OPEC+ committee will adjust oil production significantly after the meeting.

At the same time, new economic data from the US has led investors to fear that an economic downturn could limit oil demand and push prices down even with lower production.

”A strong dollar has weighed on crude oil prices and right now everyone wants to know if a red-hot labor market with low unemployment will force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further,” Oanda analyst Edward Moya told Reuters.

Conversely, other analysts suggest that an improved demand outlook and tight supply could cause oil prices to continue their rise.

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Christian Radich Hoffman)