International Benchmark Brent crude traded at $73.13 per barrel at 14.53 GMT+2 while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) saw prices of $67.67 per barrel on Friday.
Brent crude decreased to $70.94 per barrel on Tuesday. However, as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, the price of Brent crude hit $74.61 per barrel on Thursday.
On Friday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries held their 8th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee in Saudi Arabia.
After the meeting, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said via Twitter 'we need to continue to work together,' for the oil production cut as oversupply risks are still evident.
Early Friday, Novak said that they may consider lowering quotas to reduce oil production cuts in June. However, after the meeting he was quoted as saying; 'Today, we cannot say whether a decision will be taken in June to change quotas. We need to see how the situation on the market will develop.'
U.S. President Donald Trump also said via Twitter 'Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of oil all over the place, including the fully-loaded ships at sea, oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!'
- OPEC production cuts
OPEC members on Nov. 30 in 2016 unanimously agreed to lower oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) down to 32.5 million bpd. This was the organization's first production cut in eight years, and its first intervention in the global oil market since mid-2014 when oil prices began to fall.
Non-OPEC oil producing countries led by Russia agreed to contribute towards a cap of 600 thousand bpd, which brought the total production cut up to 1.8 million bpd.
On Nov. 30, 2017, during the 173rd (Ordinary) OPEC meeting and the third OPEC and Non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, the organization along with oil producing countries led by Russia decided to extend an oil production cap of 1.8 million bpd further to the end of December 2018.
By Huseyin Erdogan & Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr