TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices were steady on Friday
in quiet trade with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday underway,
while investors awaited a meeting of OPEC and its allies next
week that may result in the extension of a production cut
agreement to support the market.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 5 cents at $63.82 a barrel by
0103 GMT, after dropping 0.3% on Thursday.
West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was up by 1 cent at $58.12 a
barrel. The contract gained 0.2% in the previous session with
many U.S. traders already away for their holiday break.
Next week's meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group
known as OPEC+, is high on investors' list of things to watch.
"At least some clarity is starting to emerge surrounding the
OPEC meeting, where all parties concerned will attempt to
enforce stricter compliance with the existing agreement," said
Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader.
The group has been withholding output to support prices and
analysts expect the agreement to be extended as U.S. production
keeps hitting records.
Russian oil companies proposed on Thursday not to change
their output quotas that are part of the deal that runs until
end-March, putting pressure on OPEC+ to avoid any major shift in
the policy when the group meets in Vienna.
Still, "risk-neutral is an excellent spot to be ahead of the
weekend as there is a ton of headline risk that could upset the
apple cart," Innes said.
China warned the United States on Thursday that it would
take "firm countermeasures" in response to U.S. legislation
backing anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. Investors are concerned any such move by China would further
delay a preliminary agreement with the United States to end
their trade war that has held back growth in global economies
and in the consumption of oil.