price of crude oil: Global oil prices fell more than $2 per barrel in early trading in the Asian market on Monday.
price of crude oil, The main reason for this decline is the decision of OPEC+ to increase oil production further, which has raised concerns about increasing supply in the global market and further decline in prices.
According to private TV Aaj News, the price of Brent Crude fell by $2.04, or 3.33 percent, to $59.25 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell by $2.10 to trade at $56.19 per barrel. This means that both contracts have reached their lowest level since April 9.
OPEC+ has announced an acceleration in oil production for the second consecutive month and has set a target of an additional production of 411,000 barrels per day for June.
According to Reuters, the combined increase in April, May and June will bring 960,000 barrels per day of additional oil to the global market, which is 44% of the 2.2 million barrels per day cuts planned for 2022.
Energy analyst Tim Evans said that “OPEC Plus’ decision to increase production further on May 3 reinforces the possibility that the global supply-demand balance is tilting towards supply.”
Sources say that Saudi Arabia is angry at the violation of quotas by countries such as Iraq and Kazakhstan and is therefore increasing pressure to accelerate production.
Contrarily, Barclays Bank has reduced its Brent price forecast for 2025 by $4 to $66 per barrel in the wake of OPEC+’s decision, and by $2 to $60 per barrel in 2026.
Global geopolitical tensions are also affecting prices. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened retaliation against Iran after the Iranian-backed Houthi group fired a missile near Israel’s main airport. Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasserzadeh has warned that Iran will respond forcefully if the United States or Israel attacks.
Oil prices are under pressure in this situation and are expected to fall further this week.