Oil prices fell on Monday after OPEC+ surprised markets by increasing production more than expected in August, while uncertainty over US tariffs and their potential impact on global economic growth weighed on demand expectations, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Brent crude futures fell 47 cents, or 0.69%, to $67.83 a barrel by 03:27 GMT (06:27 Kyiv time), while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.05, down $0.95, or 1.42%.
OPEC+ agreed on Saturday to increase production by 548,000 barrels per day in August.
"The increase in production clearly reflects more aggressive competition for market share and some tolerance for further price and revenue declines," said Tim Evans of Evans Energy in a post.
The August increase is a jump compared to the monthly increase of 411,000 barrels per day approved by OPEC+ for May, June, and July, and 138,000 barrels per day in April.
This decision will return almost 80% of the 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts by eight OPEC countries to the market, according to a note from RBC Capital analysts.
However, the actual production increase is still less than planned, and most of the supply comes from Saudi Arabia, they added.
Demonstrating confidence in oil demand, Saudi Arabia on Sunday raised the price of its flagship Arab Light crude for August to a four-month high for Asia.
Goldman analysts expect OPEC to announce a final increase of 550,000 barrels per day in September at the next meeting on August 3.
Oil also came under pressure as US officials reported a delay in the introduction of tariffs but provided no details on the change.
The US is close to finalizing several trade deals in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with higher rates to take effect on August 1.
In April, Trump announced a baseline tariff rate of 10% for most countries and higher "reciprocal" tariffs in the range of up to 50%, with an initial deadline of this Wednesday.
However, Trump also said that tariffs could vary in magnitude from "maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20%," further clouding the picture.
"Fears about Trump's tariffs continue to be a common theme in the second half of 2025, with dollar weakness being the only support for oil right now," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
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