Oil settles lower as OPEC plans to increase oil output
Oil prices settled marginally lower on Monday as OPEC's plans to increase oil output once again outweighed hopes of a trade deal framework between the U.S. and China and renewed U.S. sanctions on Russia.
Brent crude futures were down about 32 cents, or nearly 0.5%, at $65.62 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures closed 19 cents or 0.3% lower at $61.31. Both contracts fell around 1% in early trade.
Eight OPEC+ nations are leaning towards making another modest increase in oil output for December when they meet on Sunday as Saudi Arabia pushes to reclaim market share, four sources familiar with the talks said.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are due to meet on Thursday to decide on that could pause tougher U.S. tariffs and China's rare-earth export curbs, easing market jitters around a trade war.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that U.S. and Chinese officials had hashed out a "substantial framework" for a trade deal that could avoid 100% U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and achieve a deferral of China's rare-earth export controls in trade discussions this week.
DEMAND CONCERNS ALSO WEIGH ON OIL
Concerns over lacklustre demand have weighed on the market, with Brent falling to its lowest since May earlier this month, but renewed sanctions on Russia from the U.S. along with stronger-than-expected U.S. demand have helped buoy prices.
OPEC and its allies have changed course this year by reversing previous production cuts to regain market share, helping in part to keep a lid on oil prices.
Iraq, the OPEC group's biggest overproducer, was in negotiations over the size of its quota within its available capacity of 5.5 million barrels per day, oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said at an oil conference on Monday.
The fire at Iraq's Zubair oilfield on Sunday did not impact exports from the country, he added.
Last week, Brent and WTI rose 8.9% and 7.7%, respectively, on U.S. and EU sanctions on Russia.
Source : Reuters.com
