Oil Falls Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting
Oil prices weakened on Thursday amid concerns that OPEC+ will increase supply again at its meeting later this week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell about 1% to US$63 per barrel, extending losses after weaker-than-expected US employment data fueled concerns about falling demand.
Price declines deepened after reports that OPEC+ was considering a new production increase. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the alliance would assess the "overall situation" before making a decision, while some delegates said a final decision had not yet been made. Algorithmic trading also accelerated the decline, with analysts predicting heavy selling from automated commodity traders.
US oil inventory data also weighed on prices. Industry estimates showed oil stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub rose by 2.1 million barrels last week, which would be the largest increase since March if confirmed by official data. This increase in inventories reinforced market concerns about a global oversupply.
So far this year, US oil has fallen more than 10% as OPEC+ aggressively raises production targets to gain market share, while producers outside the alliance also increase supply. At the same time, demand uncertainty is growing due to US trade tariffs. In trading Thursday afternoon New York time, the October WTI contract fell 1.2% to US$63.23 per barrel, while the November Brent contract weakened 1.2% to US$66.80 per barrel. (ayu)
Source: Newsmaker.id
