Oil prices edge down as investors weigh rising supplies, demand outlook | Reuters

Oil prices edge down as investors weigh rising supplies, demand outlook | Reuters

Oil prices edged down on Friday as investors weighed rising supplies from major producers and the impact on fuel demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brent crude futures for June edged down 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $63.08 a barrel by 0731 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May was at $59.59 a barrel, down 1 cent.

Both contracts are on track to post a 2%-3% drop this week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+ that includes Russia, agreed to gradually increase supplies by 2 million barrels per day between May and July.

Analysts expect global oil inventories to continue to fall, however, as fuel demand accelerates in the second half of this year as the global economic recovery gathers steam.