Oil Prices Edge Lower as OPEC+ Defers Output Hike
(MENAFN) Crude prices slipped Tuesday following an OPEC+ decision to defer scheduled production increases for the opening quarter of 2026, with eight member nations opting to maintain tighter supply controls.
Brent crude traded at $64.56 per barrel by 9:15 a.m. local time (0615 GMT), declining approximately 0.4% from Monday's closing price of $64.81.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) similarly fell 0.4% to $60.66, down from the prior session's $60.90.
Eight OPEC+ nations—Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman—reached an agreement Sunday to implement a modest 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) output increase for December. However, according to OPEC's Sunday statement, the group will suspend additional production growth from January through March 2026 due to seasonal factors.
Market analysts viewed the postponement as evidence of potential oversupply conditions in 2026, triggering bearish sentiment among traders.
The December adjustment represents a measured unwinding of voluntary 1.65 million bpd reductions initially announced in April 2023, executed against a backdrop of what OPEC characterized as "healthy market fundamentals" and depleted stockpiles.
Member states pledged continued market surveillance with the authority to halt or reverse adjustments, including separate 2.2 million bpd voluntary cuts declared in November 2023. A comparable 137,000-bpd increase was previously authorized for November.
Demand-side concerns compounded price weakness as US economic indicators disappointed investors.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropped to 48.7 in October, underperforming forecasts and indicating ongoing contraction within the US factory sector.
Manufacturing activity has now contracted for eight straight months. The figures strengthened projections that industrial fuel consumption may remain depressed heading into winter.
Market participants await the American Petroleum Institute's weekly US crude inventory report, scheduled for release later today.
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