Oil prices rise after OPEC+ decision to suspend production increase in Q1
Kyiv • UNN
Brent crude futures rose 0.37% to $65.01 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rose 0.34% to $61.19. This happened after OPEC+ decided to suspend production increases in the first quarter of next year, easing fears of an oversupply.
Oil prices rose on Monday after OPEC+ decided to suspend production increases in the first quarter of next year, easing fears of oversupply, but weak manufacturing data in Asia limited gains, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Brent crude futures rose 24 cents, or 0.37%, to $65.01 a barrel by 04:24 GMT (06:24 Kyiv time) after rising 7 cents on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at $61.19 a barrel, up 21 cents, or 0.34%, from the previous session.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies agreed on Sunday to increase production by 137,000 barrels per day in December, which is consistent with October and November levels.
"After December, due to seasonality, eight countries also decided to suspend production increases in January, February, and March 2026," the group said in a statement.
ING Head of Commodities Research Warren Patterson said the OPEC+ decision was likely an acknowledgment of the significant surplus the market would face, especially early next year.
"Obviously, the scale of the surplus still remains uncertain and will depend on how disruptive US sanctions prove to be for Russian oil supplies," he added.
RBC Capital's Head of Commodity Strategy Helima Croft also noted that Russia remains a key risk factor in oil supply after the US imposed sanctions against leading Russian producers Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as ongoing attacks on the country's energy infrastructure as part of the war in Ukraine.
"There is every reason for a cautious approach given the uncertainty of the supply situation in the first quarter and the expected decline in demand," she said.
On Sunday, a drone attacked Tuapse, one of Russia's main Black Sea oil ports, causing a fire and damaging at least one vessel, the publication writes.
Brent and WTI oil prices fell more than 2% in October, declining for the third consecutive month, and reached a five-month low on October 20 amid fears of oversupply and economic concerns about US tariffs.
Analysts kept their oil price forecasts largely unchanged, as rising OPEC+ production and weak demand offset geopolitical supply risks, a Reuters poll showed. Estimates of the oil market surplus range from 190,000 to 3 million barrels per day.
The US Energy Information Administration reported on Friday that US oil production in August rose by 86,000 barrels per day, reaching a record 13.8 million barrels per day.
Business surveys conducted on Monday showed that difficulties persisted for major manufacturing centers in Asia in October, as weak demand in the US and tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump negatively affected industrial orders across the region. Asia is the world's largest oil-consuming region.
On Friday, Trump denied considering strikes in Venezuela, an OPEC member country, amid expectations that Washington might expand drug trafficking operations there.
Trump said he does not plan strikes on Venezuela31.10.25, 18:29 • 4556 views