OPEC+ Hints at Supply Boost, Oil Prices Tumble

2 Sep 2024 , 09:33 AM

Oil prices fell further on Monday, with investors weighing greater OPEC+ production in October against a steep cut in supply from Libya and slow demand in China and the United States, the world’s two largest oil users.

Brent crude futures slid 57 cents, or 0.7%, to $76.36 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 50 cents, or 0.7%, to $73.05 per barrel.

The losses followed a 0.3% dip in Brent last week and a 1.7% decline in WTI.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, plans to increase oil output beginning in October, according to six sources from the producer group.

Eight OPEC+ countries are set to increase output by 180,000 barrels per day in October as part of an agreement to begin unwinding its most recent layer of output cuts of 2.2 million bpd while maintaining other cuts until the end of 2025.

Libya’s Arabian Gulf Oil Company has resumed output at up to 120,000 bpd to meet domestic demand, but exports remain banned, engineers said on Sunday, following a standoff between factions that shut down most of the country’s oil resources.

Both Brent and WTI have fallen for two months in a row, as economic concerns in China and the United States offset disruptions in Libyan supply and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

China’s manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low in August as factory gate prices fell and owners struggled for orders, according to an official survey released on Saturday, putting pressure on officials to push ahead with plans to transfer more stimulus to families.

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