Brent crude fell 0.6% in early trading to $69.32 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate declined below the mark of $67 in response to the OPEC+ decision taken on Sunday.
The cartel approved increasing output by another 5,47,000 barrels per day from September, after output was already hiked in the prior months. In addition to this, there will also be 1.66 million barrels per day of curbed output, but there were no clear signals of this proposal getting an approval.
Crude oil prices have gained for three weeks in a row, although prices fell last week after weaker-than-expected jobs data in the US raised growth concerns for the world’s largest economy. However, prices have not taken a nosedive as there are still lingering uncertainties that could push prices higher.
The war of words between the US and Russia over the Ukraine war after US President Donald Trump threatened severe economic sanctions on Russia if the war does not stop before August 8.
This recent output increase completes the reversal of production cuts that the cartel had announced in 2023. Experts see this move as a means to reclaim market share against US shale drillers and other non-cartel countries.
(With Inputs From Agencies.)