Crude prices fall on concerns of U.S. riots, even as OPEC meeting advanced

By Jessica Resnick-Ault
NEW YORK, May 31 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell due to concerns
about riots in major U.S. cities that could staunch demand after
trading higher on optimism that OPEC would extend or enhance
production cuts at a meeting in June.
Riots over the weekend engulfed major U.S. cities on
Saturday night, and more violence was feared Sunday over the
death of George Floyd in police custody.
What began as peaceful demonstrations over the death of
Floyd, who died as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on
his neck, have become a wave of outrage sweeping a politically
and racially divided nation. L1N2DD04L
Cities have responded with curfews and other measures to
stem the violence and some retailers that were beginning to ramp
up operations after curtailments due to the coronavirus have
pulled back in certain locations due to concerns of looting.
L1N2DD0AD
West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 for July
delivery traded at $35.25 a barrel, down 24 cents, at 7:35 p.m.
EST (21:35 GMT). The contract jumped $1.78, or 5.3%, on Friday.
Brent crude LCOc1 traded down 16 cents a barrel at $37.68
a barrel, in the first day of August trading as the front month.
The August contract climbed $1.81, or roughly 5%, on Friday.
Still, expectations of OPEC and its allies advancing the
timeline for its June meeting lent support to the market,
putting a floor in place, analysts said.
"Rumors of additional production cuts and the earlier
meeting date led the market higher," said Phil Flynn, a senior
analyst at Price Futures in Chicago.
Russia has no objection to the next meeting of OPEC and its
allies, known as OPEC+, being brought forward to June 4 from the
following week, three OPEC+ sources familiar with the meeting's
preparations told Reuters on Sunday. Algeria, which currently holds the presidency of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has
proposed the meeting planned for June 9-10 be brought forward to
facilitate oil sales for countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq
and Kuwait. Both benchmarks saw steep monthly rises due to falling
global production and expectations for demand growth as parts of
the United States, including New York City, and other countries
move to reopen after coronavirus-related lockdowns. (Editing by Diane Craft)