OPEC+ likely to approve 411,000 bpd oil output hike for August
The group, which includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Algeria, is expected to agree to an increase of 411,000 barrels per day for August, several sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
If agreed, OPEC+ would have increased supply targets by about 1.78 million bpd, or 1.5% of global oil consumption. Actual increases, however, have been lower as some members deliver cuts to compensate for past overproduction.
On Friday, the group decided to bring the meeting date forward by one day, the sources said. One of them said it was not yet clear if 411,000 bpd would be the final agreement.
OPEC+ made a radical change in policy this year, after several years of output cuts totalling more than 5 million bpd. This came when the eight members started to unwind their most recent output cut of 2.2 million bpd starting in April and accelerated the hikes in May, June and July, despite the extra supply weighing on crude prices.
The acceleration came after some members, such as Kazakhstan, produced way over their targets, angering other members that were sticking more closely to agreed cuts.
Kazakh output returned to growth last month and matched an all-time high, as the Chevron-led Tengiz field ramped up, a source familiar with the data told Reuters this week.
OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, is looking to expand its market share against the backdrop of growing supplies from other producers like the United States.
The group pumps about half of the world's oil. As of their decision for July output, the OPEC+ eight have made or announced production increases of 1.37 million bpd. This is 62% of the production cut of 2.2 million bpd that they are unwinding. - Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
16 minutes ago
- The Star
No plans yet to penalise China for buying Russian oil
FILE PHOTO: A view shows a pressure gauge near oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo WASHINGTON: US president Donald Trump says he does not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to 'in two or three weeks'. Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil. However, Trump has not taken similar action against China. He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine. 'Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that,' Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska. 'Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well.' Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs. — Reuters
The Star
16 minutes ago
- The Star
Sweden to be model for encouraging EU investors
Unlocking funds: A Swedish flag on a boat in Stockholm. The EU is hoping to unleash trillions of euros in household savings in order to lift wealth. — Reuters Brussels: The European Union (EU) wants to unleash trillions of euros in household savings by encouraging people to invest in capital markets – and it sees Sweden as a template of how to do so. Europe is expected to detail its plan this quarter to mobilise citizens' funds sitting in bank deposits as part of its Savings and Investments Union. By making it easier for people to invest, it aims to lift household wealth and boost firms' access to funding. Analysts said it might promote wider adoption of Swedish-style bank accounts that enable people to easily invest savings in stocks. That's as Poland earlier this month proposed an investment savings account modelled on Sweden's InvesteringsSparKonto, or ISK system, to create an 'equity culture' attracting 100 billion zloty or about US$27bil in its first three years. Sweden's retail-trading base is 'among the best in the world' due to the ease by which people been able to invest in listed companies, Philip Scholtze, savings economist at Avanza Bank Holding AB, said. The Nordic nation is regarded as a 'best practice' model, said a spokesperson for the financial services department at the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. The spokesperson added that the bloc aims to provide citizens with 'a wider range of tools and knowledge to invest their savings in ways that can directly benefit their personal economy, while simultaneously turbo-charging the investment landscape in the EU.' Decades of policymaking in the country of about 10 million people has helped make equity investing more akin to a national sport. Swedish households invest over half of their savings in stocks, more than twice the average in the eurozone, according to a report by European Savings Institute this year. Anyone with a bank account can trade, while the ISK account – in place since 2012 – is not subject to capital gains tax. Securities can be easily bought and sold directly from mobile banking applications. 'Swedes have good reason to be thankful for the ISK account,' said Mohammed Salih, a 32-year-old communications manager who lives in Listerby in southern Sweden. He has invested with the system for more than 10 years. 'I have always saved money and tried to build an economically stable future, but I didn't know how to make the money grow.' He started an Instagram account to document his journey toward his goal of growing assets to one million Swedish kronor or about US$105,000. He said he achieved it a few years ago, but still posts stock market tips that attract interest. 'The youngest person who has written to me was 13 years old. His parents had helped him set up an ISK account,' Salih said. The ISK simplified the tax structure around capital investments, removing bureaucratic barriers that had previously discouraged participation. 'It's just a much simpler way to buy stocks,' Frida Bratt, savings economist at Nordnet Bank AB, said. 'This has been especially important for young people.' Almost a quarter of Swedes directly own shares in publicly listed companies, with stakes totalling around 540,000 Swedish kronor on average, according to data from Euroclear Sweden. The most recent available data from the Swedish Investment Fund Association show that about 70% of all Swedes directly invest money in mutual funds. In Britain, only 8% of personal wealth is saved in equities and mutual funds, data from a January review by Aberdeen Group Plc showed. It remains to be seen what effect the introduction of a EU-wide savings and investment account could have on the wider European market. According to Jonas Strom, chief executive of the Nordic investment bank ABG Sundal Collier Holding ASA, it is 'definitely possible' to export the Swedish success with the ISK accounts to a wider European audience. The European Commission would only offer a blueprint of how a EU-wide savings and investment account could be constructed, leaving member states to implement it. The success of the proposal ultimately depends on the 'political will' of the member states, Strom said. — Bloomberg
The Star
16 minutes ago
- The Star
Massive stock market a big headache for Xi
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 2, 2025. REUTERS. Beijing: At the heart of why consumers in China save so much and spend so little, and why Xi Jinping will struggle to change that behaviour even if they want to, lies the country's stock market. Even after a recent rally, Chinese indexes have only just returned to levels seen in the aftermath of a dramatic bubble burst a decade ago. Instead of incentivising consumers to spend, poor equity returns have nudged them toward saving. A US$10,000 investment in the S&P 500 Index a decade ago would now have more than tripled in value, while the same amount in China's CSI 300 benchmark would've added just around US$3,000. Part of the reason, long-term China watchers say, is structural. Created 35 years ago as a way for state-owned enterprises to channel household savings into building roads, ports and factories, exchanges have lacked a strong focus on delivering returns to investors. That skew has spawned a host of problems from an oversupply of shares to questionable post-listing practices, which continue to weigh on the US$11 trillion market. The country's leaders are under pressure to fix this. President Xi is counting on domestic spending to reach the 5% economic growth goal, especially as a tariff war with the United States heats up over the massive trade imbalance. At the same time, Beijing has reasons to keep prioritising the market's role as a source of capital: the country needs vast funding to nurture companies that underpin its tech ambitions – even if their profitability remains questionable. 'China's capital market has long been a paradise for financiers and a hell for investors, although the new securities chief has made some improvements,' Liu Jipeng, a securities veteran who teaches at China University of Political Science and Law, said in an interview. 'Regulators and exchanges are always consciously or unconsciously tilting toward the financing side of the business.' The limits of China's stock rally have again been evident this year. The CSI 300 has risen less than 7% despite a burst of optimism over artificial intelligence (AI), trailing benchmarks in the United States and Europe. The under performance – along with factors including an uncertain economic outlook – helps explain China's extraordinarily high savings rate, which stands at 35% of disposable income. Chen Long, who works in the asset management industry, has taken to social media platform Xiaohongshu to warn people of the risks of chasing the recent rally. 'Many ordinary people come in thinking they could make money, but the majority of them end up poorer,' Chen said in an interview, adding that he has been investing since 2014. 'State-owned companies primarily answer to the government rather than shareholders, while many private entrepreneurs have little regard for small investors.' Over the past year, China's top leadership has shown greater awareness of the stock market's importance as a vehicle for wealth creation. That's especially the case with an ongoing property slump and a fragmented social safety net, which exacerbates a sense of insecurity. — Bloomberg
