Oil Falls as Saudi Arabia Seeks Bigger Output Increase
Oil fell on signs that Saudi Arabia is seeking another big output increase at an OPEC+ meeting next month, in a bid to gain market share that could worsen a supply glut expected later this year.
West Texas Intermediate traded below $63 a barrel after falling 0.9% in the previous session, while Brent closed below $65. The kingdom wants the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to continue adding at least 411,000 barrels per day of output in August and potentially September, according to people familiar with the matter.
In the U.S., crude inventories fell 4.3 million barrels last week, the biggest drop since November, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. The decline was larger than the industry body had previously estimated. Oil prices rose this week as OPEC+ did not go ahead with a bigger-than-expected output increase in July.
WTI has fallen about 13% this year on concerns that the trade war will hurt economic growth and energy demand. President Donald Trump has called for talks on tariffs with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who appears reluctant to resume high-level negotiations at this stage.
WTI for July delivery fell 0.4% to $62.61 a barrel at 7:32 a.m. in Singapore.
Brent for August delivery settled 1.2% lower at $64.86 a barrel on Wednesday.
Source: Bloomberg
