Oil prices fall before the OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices fell early on Monday as investors waited for officials from OPEC and other major producers to meet this week on supply adjustments.

Brent crude futures were down 63 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $103.34 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell to $97.87 a barrel, down 75 cents, or 0.7 percent, after hitting a session low of $97.55 at the start of trading in Asia.

Both crudes rose more than $2 a barrel on Friday as investors’ appetite for risk improved. However, Brent and WTI ended July with second consecutive monthly losses for the first time since 2020, as rising inflation and higher interest rates heightened fears of a recession that could erode fuel demand.

Analysts in a Reuters poll for the first time since April, cut their forecasts for average Brent prices in 2022 to $105.75 a barrel and $101.28 for West Texas Intermediate crude.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, will meet in a group known as OPEC+ on Wednesday to decide on September production.

Two of eight OPEC+ sources said in a Reuters survey that a modest increase for September would be discussed at the August 3 meeting, while the remaining sources said production was likely to remain flat.

The meeting comes after US President Joe Biden visits Saudi Arabia last month.

The beginning of August will see OPEC+ completely abandon record production cuts since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.