Oil prices fell in Asia Monday morning as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to boost crude production, even as shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz shows signs of recovery.
Following a virtual meeting on Sunday, seven members of the OPEC+ group said they would raise output by about 188,000 barrels a day in August, marking a fifth consecutive monthly increase. The countries participating in the increase include Saudi Arabia-the group's de-facto leader-along with Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman.
The group's latest production boost comes as shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has begun to recover after the U.S. and Iran signed an interim agreement in mid-June to halt their conflict and reopen the Strait. The strait is a critical waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil is typically transported.
"Oil and gas shipping along a U.S.-protected corridor in the Strait of Hormuz showed signs of recovering following" the interim agreement, with tanker traffic gradually rebuilding through the waterway, Commerzbank Research analysts said in a research report. These developments, together with the group's Sunday decision, have "fanned concerns about a potential global crude glut," the analysts added.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.3% to $68.49 a barrel, while front-month Brent crude oil futures slipped 0.5% to $71.78 a barrel, according to ICE data.
Meanwhile, equity markets in Asia traded mixed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.3% while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7%. Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index and Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI were little changed.
Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 05, 2026 21:36 ET (01:36 GMT)
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