OPEC+ to Raise Oil Output Again as Hormuz Traffic Normalizes

The OPEC+ group is set to approve another increase in its production targets starting in August. According to sources familiar with the matter, quotas will rise by 188,000 barrels per day, following similar increases in June and July.

The move comes amid rising global supply and falling oil prices, driven by the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic. The cartel and its allies, including Russia, have raised production limits by a total of nearly 800,000 barrels per day since April.

However, this increase has so far remained largely on paper. This was because of the US-Israeli war against Iran, which blocked a key maritime route for leading exporters such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. As a result, the group's total production fell from 42.77 million barrels per day in February to 33.13 million in May.

Although production recovered slightly in June with US assistance, volumes remain below pre-war levels. Despite this, oil prices have fallen significantly. Pressure on prices is coming from weaker Chinese imports, higher exports from countries outside the Middle East and record releases of strategic reserves. A memorandum ending the war also helped calm the market. The price of Brent crude oil fell to $72 per barrel on Friday.

(Reuters, Max)