Oil Prices Rise After Modest October Production Hike From OPEC+

Benchmark Brent crude prices rose 1.1% to $66.20 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate prices gained 1.1% to $62.56 per barrel at 1.39 a.m. GMT.

Oil prices gained in Asia hours on Monday as the OPEC+ chose to boost October production at a slower pace than in previous months.

Benchmark Brent crude prices rose 1.1% to $66.20 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate prices gained 1.1% to $62.56 per barrel at 1.39 a.m. GMT (9.39 p.m. GMT). Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about the United States Oil Fund (USO) was in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

Both contracts slipped over 3% last week, as demand concerns grew following a buildup of crude inventories in the U.S., while jobs data showed that the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a 4-year high.

On Sunday, OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia, agreed to raise output by 137,000 barrels per day, much lower than the over 550,000 bpd of production hike in August and September. Riyadh aims to regain market share lost during the pandemic, while also providing opportunities for overproducing members to compensate. The oil-producing group has already brought back about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in curtailed production this year.

"The oil market rebounded slightly, supported by relief over OPEC+'s modest output hike and a technical bounce following last week's decline," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities, according to a Reuters News report.

He added that the potential U.S. sanctions on Russia might also be lending support to oil prices amid concerns about oversupply. Several firms, including Goldman Sachs, have projected Brent oil prices to drop into the $50s by the end of the fourth quarter.

Separately, the war in Ukraine intensified over the weekend, as Russia launched the biggest air attack of the war and set the main government building on fire, according to a Reuters report, citing Ukrainian officials.

Several European leaders are expected to visit Washington, D.C., over the next few days to bolster peace efforts in the war-torn country.

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