Oil prices were lower today ahead of the OPEC+ meeting and the EU oil ban. “Traders will be hesitant to be short over the weekend if there are growing rumblings that OPEC might try to shock and awe the market at their weekend meeting,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. Russian oil output could fall by 500K-1MM/ bpd early in 2023 due to the EU ban on seaborne imports. Both contracts dipped in and out of negative territory, but notched their first weekly gains at around 2.5% and 5%, respectively, after three consecutive weeks of drops. WTI traded down $1.24 or -1.5% to close at $79.98. Brent traded down $1.31 or -1.5% to close at $85.57.