<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil prices extended losses on Thursday, pressured by rising concerns over a potential increase in global supply and weaker-than-expected demand data from the United States. The latest downturn reflects renewed anxiety that the crude market may face a period of oversupply heading into the summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 04:55 ET (08:55 GMT), Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to $64.16 a barrel<\/strong>, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures dropped 1.2% to $60.86<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a report from Bloomberg News, OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) are currently in discussions over another potential production hike<\/strong>, with a proposed increase of 411,000 barrels per day for July<\/strong> reportedly under consideration. The group has already been gradually unwinding previous output cuts, having boosted production in both May and June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While no final decision has been made, the prospect of additional supply entering the market has unsettled traders, particularly as demand signals remain mixed and global inventories stay elevated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further weighing on prices was data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)<\/strong> showing an unexpected 1.3 million-barrel rise in crude inventories<\/strong> for the week ending May 16, bringing total U.S. stockpiles to 443.2 million barrels<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The build contradicted analyst expectations of a drawdown and reinforced fears that the market is currently oversupplied<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding to the bearish tone, gasoline and distillate inventories also increased<\/strong>, rising by 816,000 and 580,000 barrels<\/strong>, respectively. This suggests that refined product demand remains tepid<\/strong>, despite the approach of the typically high-consumption summer driving season in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil markets are also watching developments in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations<\/strong>, with the fifth round of talks scheduled for May 23 in Rome<\/strong>. If an agreement is reached that results in the easing of U.S. sanctions, Iran could significantly ramp up its oil exports<\/strong>, further adding to global supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iran, the third-largest producer within OPEC<\/strong>, has maintained reduced exports under the weight of Western sanctions. However, its infrastructure enables it to bring substantial volumes online swiftly if restrictions are lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While summer demand<\/strong> may eventually offer some support to prices, the near-term outlook remains fragile<\/strong>. Traders are now balancing the potential for a rebound in global consumption against the likelihood of supply surges from both OPEC+ and Iran<\/strong>, as well as rising inventories in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until clarity emerges from the upcoming OPEC+ meeting on June 1<\/strong> and the outcome of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks<\/strong>, oil markets may remain volatile and prone to downside pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oil prices extended losses on Thursday, pressured by rising concerns over a potential increase in global supply and weaker-than-expected demand data from the United States. The latest downturn reflects renewed anxiety that the crude market may face a period of oversupply heading into the summer months. At 04:55 ET (08:55 GMT), Brent crude futures fell …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":60920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,37,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-commodities-news","category-forex-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114741,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114740\/revisions\/114741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}OPEC+ Considers July Production Increase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Surprise Crude Inventory Build in U.S.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks May Unlock Additional Supply<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Outlook Clouded by Supply Risk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n