
OPEC+ Set To Boost Oil Output By 548,000bpd Next Month
Reuters reported that the decision, expected to be formally confirmed at the ministerial meeting scheduled for 1100GMT on Aug 3, comes amid mounting concerns over supply disruptions from Russia and renewed geopolitical pressure from the West.
The move would complete the unwinding of a 2.2 million bpd production cut, with the United Arab Emirates permitted to increase its output by an additional 300,000bpd, according to the sources.
The oil alliance, comprising OPEC members and key partners like Russia, has gradually increased supply since April, starting with a 138,000bpd bump, followed by monthly hikes of 411,000bpd through July and 548,000bpd in August.
While the core cuts are now nearly fully restored, OPEC+ is still maintaining a voluntary reduction of 1.65 million bpd by eight members, along with a broader two-million-bpd group-wide cut, both of which are set to expire in 2026.
The output decision unfolds as Washington presses India to halt Russian oil imports, while new European Union sanctions have already prompted Indian state refiners to suspend purchases from Moscow. These developments have amplified uncertainty around future supply flows and market stability.
OPEC+, which accounts for roughly half of global oil production, is not expected to deliberate on the remaining voluntary cuts at the meeting.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
3 minutes ago
- The Star
Sony hikes profit forecast seeing smaller trade war impact
TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony raised its full-year operating profit forecast on Thursday by 4% to 1.33 trillion yen ($9.01 billion), citing expectations of a smaller impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Sony sees a tariff impact of 70 billion yen, compared to 100 billion yen forecast in May. It said the estimated impact is based on tariff rates as of August 1 and that the situation remained fluid. Japanese companies such as Honda Motor have trimmed their expected hit from tariffs amid a reduction in uncertainty with Japan striking a trade deal with the U.S. last month. Sony also said it sees a stronger profit outlook at its games business, boosted by sales of network services and favourable exchange rates. Sony was once well known as a maker of household electronics such as the "Walkman" portable cassette player but has become an entertainment behemoth spanning games, movies and music as well as a leading maker of image sensors for smartphones. The group reported a 36.5% rise in operating profit to 340 billion yen for the April-June quarter, beating the 288 billion yen average of eight analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. Shares in Sony, which announced results during the midday trading break, jumped 5%. Sony sold 2.5 million PlayStation 5 game consoles in the first quarter, a 4% rise compared to the same period a year earlier. Quarterly operating profit at the games business more than doubled to 148 billion yen due to higher sales of network services and games not made by Sony. The console industry was set to receive a boost this year from the launch of "Grand Theft VI" but the latest addition to the popular series has been delayed to 2026. Nintendo, which is seen as a potential beneficiary of GTA 6's delay, last week reported robust early demand for its new Switch 2 gaming device. Elsewhere in the conglomerate, Sony is preparing to cut its stake in its financial unit to less than 20% through a partial spin-off, with the business to list in Tokyo on September 29. ($1 = 147.5700 yen) (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing)


The Star
3 minutes ago
- The Star
Myint Swe, president under Myanmar's junta, dies, state broadcaster reports
(Reuters) -Myint Swe, who became Myanmar's president during a 2021 coup against an elected civilian government and immediately handed power to the military, has died a year after going on medical leave, the state broadcaster said on Thursday. The 74-year-old former general died in hospital on Thursday morning, state-run MRTV said. He became nominal president after the incumbent Win Myint was arrested during the coup alongside Nobel laureate and de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. They have been detained ever since. Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup plunged the Southeast Asian nation into civil war, with the military fighting to contain a rebellion and accused of widespread atrocities, which it denies. Myint Swe had served as vice president under Myanmar's quasi-civilian system before becoming the figurehead president. The junta had depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its rule. He was placed on medical leave in July last year, with his duties passed to junta chief and armed forces commander Min Aung Hlaing. Last week, the military nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim government ahead of a planned election later this year, with the military chief remaining in charge of the war-torn country in his other role as acting president. (Reporting by Reuters reporters; Writing by John Mair; Editing by David Stanway)


The Star
33 minutes ago
- The Star
Trump's higher tariff rates hit goods from major US trading partners
PRESIDENT Donald Trump's higher tariff rates of 10% to 50% on dozens of trading partners kicked in on Thursday, testing his strategy for shrinking U.S. trade deficits without massive disruptions to global supply chains, higher inflation and stiff retaliation from trading partners. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting the higher tariffs at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) after weeks of suspense over Trump's final tariff rates and frantic negotiations with major trading partners that sought to lower them. Goods loaded onto U.S.-bound vessels and in transit before the midnight deadline can enter at lower prior tariff rates before October 5, according to a CBP notice to shippers issued this week. Imports from many countries had previously been subject to a baseline 10% import duty after Trump paused higher rates announced in early April. But since then, Trump has frequently modified his tariff plan, slapping some countries with much higher rates, including 50% for goods from Brazil, 39% from Switzerland, 35% from Canada and 25% from India. He announced on Wednesday a separate, 25% tariff on Indian goods to be imposed in 21 days over the South Asian country's purchases of Russian oil. "RECIPROCAL TARIFFS TAKE EFFECT AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!," Trump said on Truth Social just ahead of the deadline. "BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, LARGELY FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE UNITED STATES FOR MANY YEARS, LAUGHING ALL THE WAY, WILL START FLOWING INTO THE USA. THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICA'S GREATNESS WOULD BE A RADICAL LEFT COURT THAT WANTS TO SEE OUR COUNTRY FAIL!" Eight major trading partners accounting for about 40% of U.S. trade flows have reached framework deals for trade and investment concessions to Trump, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea, reducing their base tariff rates to 15%. Britain won a 10% rate, while Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines secured rate reductions to 19% or 20%. "For those countries, it's less-bad news," said William Reinsch, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "There'll be some supply chain rearrangement. There'll be a new equilibrium. Prices here will go up, but it'll take a while for that to show up in a major way," Reinsch said. Countries with punishingly high duties, such as India and Canada, "will continue to scramble around trying to fix this," he added. Trump's order has specified that any goods determined to have been transshipped from a third country to evade higher U.S. tariffs will be subject to an additional 40% import duty, but his administration has released few details on how these goods would be identified or the provision enforced. Trump's July 31 tariff order imposed duties above 10% on 67 trading partners, while the rate was kept at 10% for those not listed. These import taxes are one part of a multilayered tariff strategy that includes national security-based sectoral tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, autos, steel, aluminum, copper, lumber and other goods. Trump said on Wednesday the microchip duties could reach 100%. China is on a separate tariff track and will face a potential tariff increase on August 12 unless Trump approves an extension of a prior truce after talks last week in Sweden. He has said he may impose additional tariffs over China's purchases of Russian oil as he seeks to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine. REVENUES, PRICE HIKES Trump has touted the vast increase in federal revenues from his import tax collections, which are ultimately paid by companies importing the goods and consumers of end products. The higher rates will add to the total, which reached a record $27 billion in June. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that U.S. tariff revenues could top $300 billion a year. The move will drive average U.S. tariff rates to around 20%, the highest in a century and up from 2.5% when Trump took office in January, the Atlantic Institute estimates. Commerce Department data released last week showed more evidence that tariffs began driving up U.S. prices in June, including for home furnishings and durable household equipment, recreational goods and motor vehicles. Costs from Trump's tariff war are mounting for a wide swath of companies, including bellwethers Caterpillar, Marriott, Molson Coors and Yum Brands. All told, global companies that have reported earnings so far this quarter are looking at a hit of around $15 billion to profits in 2025, Reuters' global tariff tracker shows. - Reuters