Crude Oil Futures Settle Lower Again

Crude oil futures ended lower on Friday, extending losses from previous session, amid concerns over excess supply in the market and on near term demand growth worries.

Also, traders appeared to have moved on to the sidelines due to possible government shutdown in the U.S. from Friday midnight and caution ahead of the weekend and the Christmas holiday on Tuesday.

It appears the federal government is heading toward a shutdown after President Donald Trump told House Republicans he is unwilling to sign a short-term spending bill approved by the Senate, due to a lack of funding for his controversial border wall.

Despite OPEC and non-OPEC members deciding to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 2019, crude oil prices keep hitting multi-month lows due to growing worries about global economic slowdown.

Recent data from almost all parts of the globe have been indicating a weak outlook for the global economy. The lowering of growth projections by the European Central Bank last week and disappointing reports from China, which is the second largest economy in the world continue to weigh on the commodity.

Meanwhile, a report from Baker Hughes said U.S. oil rigs count increased by 10 this week, the highest rise in six weeks.

Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.29, or 0.6%, at $45.59 a barrel, the lowest settlement price since 12 July 2017. On Thursday, crude oil futures ended down $2.29, or 4.8%, at $45.88 a barrel

Crude oil futures shed as much as 11% in the week.

Reports earlier in the day suggested the possibility of OPEC's production cuts from January to be deeper than expected. Still, traders largely shrugged off the reports and stayed wary of making fresh commitments.

Oil output from Russia hit a record high of 11.42 million barrels per day in December. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has reportedly said that the country was sticking to plans to cut oil production by 228,000 barrels per day, in line with a global deal.