Oil prices extended losses in early trading on Monday as investors weighed OPEC+’s planned production increase from October against a sharp drop in Libyan output amid weak demand in China and the United States, the world’s largest oil consumers.
Brent crude futures were down 57 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $76.36 a barrel by 0108 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 50 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $73.05 a barrel.
The losses come after a 0.3 percent decline in Brent crude last week and a 1.7 percent decline in West Texas Intermediate crude.
Both Brent and WTI crude have suffered losses for two straight months as economic concerns in China and the United States outweighed disruptions to Libyan supplies and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Six sources from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, or the group known as OPEC+, told Reuters that the group is close to moving forward with a planned increase in oil production from October.
Eight OPEC+ members are set to increase their output by 180,000 barrels per day in October, as part of a plan to start easing the latest tranche of 2.2 million barrels per day of production cuts with further reductions to continue until the end of 2025.
U.S. oil consumption slowed in June to its lowest seasonal level since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Friday.
In Libya, the Arabian Gulf Oil Company has resumed production of up to 120,000 barrels per day to meet local needs, while exports remain halted, engineers said Sunday.
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2024-09-04 13:27:29