Online Reporter
Oil extended declines after OPEC+ agreed to a bigger-than-expected production increase next month, raising concerns about oversupply just as US tariffs fan fears about the demand outlook.
Brent slid as much as 1,6 percent toward US$67 a barrel after falling 0,7 percent on Friday, and West Texas Intermediate was near US$66. The group led by Saudi Arabia decided on Saturday to increase supply by 548 000 barrels a day, putting OPEC+ on track to unwind its most recent output cuts a year earlier than planned.
Alliance officials cited summer demand as one reason for their optimism that the extra barrels could be absorbed by the market, with the move answering President Donald Trump’s calls for lower fuel costs.
OPEC+ is “clearly taking advantage of a period of tightness in global energy markets,” said Robert Rennie, the head of commodity and carbon research at Westpac Banking Corp. However, there are “downside risks” to oil prices as seasonal demand wanes after summer, he added.
The oil market has been volatile in recent weeks following the conflict between Israel and Iran, with a fragile truce now in place and focus shifting to OPEC+ supply and US trade policy.
Trump’s country-by-country tariffs will take effect August 1, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, signalling some breathing room for trading partners ahead of a previous deadline of July 9.
Separately, Trump said in a social media post late Sunday that he would put an additional 10 percent tariff on any country aligning with “the Anti-American policies of Brics,” injecting further uncertainty into global trade. — Bloomberg
