OPEC+ agrees to another oil production boost in October

Oil prices have fallen about 14% year to date, amid a series of production hikes by OPEC+. - Getty Images/iStockphoto

OPEC+ agreed Sunday to further increase oil production in October, in an ongoing move to regain market share at the expense of prices.

Eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, led by Saudi Arabia, met briefly Sunday and agreed to raise production by 137,000 barrels a day next month.

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Still, the October increase is less than recent monthly increases, as OPEC+ moves to unwind a series of previous production cuts a year ahead of schedule.

In a statement Sunday, OPEC+ said it will return 1.65 million barrels per day worth of production “in part or in full subject to evolving market conditions and in a gradual manner.” The delegates will meet next on Oct. 5.

Read more:OPEC+ meets this weekend at a precarious time for crude oil. Here’s what’s at stake.

The group has increased oil production this year in part to punish certain oil-producing nations, like Kazakhstan, for overproduction, and to drive down prices in order to regain market share from U.S. shale drillers.

While noting that Saudi Arabia has the “vast share” of spare capacity, RBC Capital Markets said in a note Sunday that it sees the “modest” October increase as “keeping in line with the slow-roll strategy since spring, and the lack of a clear forward-looking production roadmap signals that constructive ambiguity will be the operating principle for the remainder of the year.”

U.S. benchmark oil prices CL.1 CL00 fell more than 3% last week, in anticipation of Sunday’s move.

Oil prices have fallen this year, with U.S. benchmark prices down 14%, but they’ve largely held above $60 a barrel despite forecasts for steeper declines to the $40 level.

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