Crude oil prices settled slightly lower on Tuesday after Brent rose above $75 a barrel for the first time in over two years, as OPEC+ discussed raising oil production. Brent crude futures settled down 9 cents to $74.81 a barrel after hitting a session high of $75.30 a barrel, the strongest since April 25, 2019. U.S.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 60 cents, or 0.8%, to $73.06 a barrel. OPEC+ is discussing a gradual increase to oil output from August, but no decision has been taken on the exact volumes, an OPEC+ source said on Tuesday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, is already returning 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) to the market from May through July as part of a plan to unwind last year’s record output curbs gradually as pandemic-hit demand recovers.
The group meets next on July 1. Both benchmarks have risen for the past four weeks in response to the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations and an expected pick-up in summer travel. “(Because) of tight physical markets and healthy demand perceptions, the risk remains skewed to the upside,” oil brokerage PVM said.
