Investing.com - Oil prices were mostly flat on Friday but still remained near its highest level in over three and a half years as officials the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ and Russia meet in Saudi Arabia.
Crude oil futures rose 0.03% to $68.31 a barrel by 4:38 AM ET (8:38 GMT), its highest level since November 2014 and a session high.
Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., was flat at $73.78 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI hit their highest levels since November, 2014 on Thursday, at $74.75 and $69.56 per barrel respectively.
Prices were bolstered by a decline in U.S. supply and continued support of production cuts by OPEC and Russia’s deal to cut production.
OPEC has been cutting crude output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to prop up oil prices. The pact began in January 2017 and is set to expire at the end of 2018.The group meets on Friday and, while its efforts to end a global supply glut have been successful, Saudi Arabia is pushing for the cuts to extend into 2019.
Investors were slightly cautious after Russia’s energy minister Alexander Novak said OPEC and Russia could ease output restrictions. The group is meeting in Saudi Arabia on Friday and while no official announcements are expected, traders will be listening in for any comments on continued cooperation between the countries.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia officials would like the price of oil to continue rising to $80 or even $100, Reuters reported, which increased prices to their three-year highs on Thursday.
In other energy trading, Gasoline RBOB Futures increased 0.21% at $2.0779 a gallon, while heating oil fell 0.06% to $2.1082 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 0.30% to $2.668 per million British thermal units.