Investing.com — Oil prices reversed gains Thursday, ignoring a much bigger drop in weekly crude inventories and OPEC+ delaying plans to boost production by two months.
At 2:02 PM EST (1802 GMT), Nymex crude futures were down 0.4% at $69.84 per barrel, while the contract was down 0.3% at $72.52 per barrel.
OPEC+ postpones production increases by two months
OPEC+ said it has pushed back its plans to increase production in October by two months so that members of the group that had produced too much crude could bring output in line with the voluntary production cut agreement.
OPEC and its allies, or OPEC+, moved toward an output increase of 180,000 barrels per day in October as part of its plan to ease output cuts.
But Iraq and Kazakhstan had been overproducing since January 2024, and the group said it wanted to “ensure full compliance by all members.”
The two-month delay comes at a time when a soft outlook for crude oil demand, led by persistent swings in the Chinese economy, has fueled concerns within the group. The plan to phase out production cuts now runs from December this year to November 2025.
US crude oil stock prices have fallen more than expected
Oil inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels in the week ended August 30, a sharper decline than the expected 600,000 barrel decline, driven by declining imports.
However, gasoline inventories rose more than expected as the U.S. summer driving season, a period of strong demand, was put in the rearview mirror.
The end of the summer driving season also typically heralds a period of weaker refining activity ahead of the maintenance season, which typically starts around mid-September.
Refinery activity was unchanged from the previous week at 93.3%, with average crude oil supplies of about 16.9 million barrels per day, up 36,000 barrels from the previous week, the EIA said.
