- WTI price slumps to near $66.35 in Monday’s early Asian session.
- OPEC+ agreed to increase output by another 547K bps from September, after output was already hiked in the prior months.
- Weaker-than-expected US employment data raised growth concerns for the world’s largest economy.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $66.35 during the early Asian trading hours on Monday. The WTI edges lower after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) approved another increase in oil production, raising oversupply concerns.
Bloomberg reported on Sunday that OPEC+ announced plans to boost oil production by 547K barrels per day (bps) for September as concerns mount over potential supply disruptions linked to Russia. The group began increasing output in April with a modest hike of 138K bpd, followed by larger-than-expected rises of 411K bpd in May, June, and July, 548K bpd in August, and now 547K bpd for September.
A weaker-than-expected US jobs report fed concerns about an economic slowdown following Washington’s series of tariff measures. This, in turn, contributes to the WTI’s downside. Traders are now also considering potential action by the US President Donald Trump.
On the other hand, the threat of secondary sanctions on Russian crude might help limit the WTI’s losses. Trump reiterated that the US may impose additional tariffs on Russia if Moscow does not make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine within 10 days. Looking ahead, oil traders await the release of the American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly crude oil stock report later on Tuesday for fresh impetus.
