Oil rebounds after OPEC+ sticks to same output hike in July vs June
SINGAPORE, June 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices rebounded more than $1 a barrel in early Asian trade on Monday after OPEC+ decided to increase output in July by the same amount as it did in each of the prior two months, in line with market expectation.
Brent crude futures climbed $1.06, or 1.69%, to $63.84 a barrel by 2244 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $61.95 a barrel, up $1.16, or 1.91%.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies decided on Saturday to raise output by 411,000 barrels per day in July, the third straight month of increase by the same amount, as the group known as OPEC+ looks to wrestle back market share and punish over-producers.
The group had been expected to discuss a bigger production hike.
"Had they gone through with a surprise larger amount, then Monday's price open would have been pretty ugly indeed," analyst Harry Tchilinguirian of Onyx Capital Group wrote on LinkedIn.
Oil traders said the decision for a 411,000-bpd output hike has already been priced into Brent and WTI futures which slipped more than 1% last week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
37 minutes ago
- Telegraph
New South Korean president promises closer ties with Kim Jong-un
South Korea has elected a Left-wing president who has promised to strengthen ties with Kim Jong-un's regime in the North. Lee Jae-myung, from the Left-leaning Democratic Party, won the snap vote on Tuesday, defeating Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party. The election came after months of chaos following former president Yoon Suk Yeol's decision to impose martial law on the country in December 2024. While Mr Lee's rags-to-riches story – rising from a factory worker to become president – has appealed to some in the country, many in South Korea see him as a divisive figure plagued by scandals, including with North Korea. Mr Lee campaigned on promises of greater dialogue with the North, while Mr Kim remained critical of engagement and instead vowed to use nuclear weapons to counter Pyongyang if needed. To engage with North Korea, Mr Lee said he would seek to restart communication via a hotline, which was previously used between the two countries before Pyongyang stopped responding in 2023. A new report from the United States Department of Defense found that North Korea had reached its 'strongest strategic position' in decades, making South Korea's approach all the more critical. However, Mr Lee's position is clouded by allegations that he has facilitated the transfer of funds to North Korea. South Korean prosecutors allege that between 2019 and 2020, while he was governor of Gyeonggi Province, he directed the Ssangbangwool Group, a large South Korean conglomerate known for manufacturing undergarments, to transfer US$8 million (£5.9 million) to North Korea. This comprised $5 million intended for a smart farm project and $3 million to facilitate a prospective visit by Mr Lee to Pyongyang. His former deputy governor was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for his role in the scheme, though Mr Lee has rejected any wrongdoing. Mr Kim claimed that the money 'is now feeding the Kim family' in North Korea, referring to the dynasty that has ruled the isolated country since 1948. Beyond his ties to the North, Mr Lee also faces controversy in relation to a number of criminal cases, which in 2024 even put his life at risk. While speaking to journalists at an airport in the city of Busan, he was stabbed in the neck by a man who was pretending to ask for an autograph. Since the incident, he has only ever campaigned behind bulletproof glass, wearing a bulletproof vest and protected by body guards. Mr Kim mocked Mr Lee's alleged paranoia while on the campaign trail, calling him a coward and claiming that he should be 'in jail where it's the safest if he's so scared'. Mr Lee is facing five criminal trials, three of which were put on hold until after the election. The most high profile of the cases involves allegations that Mr Lee made false statements during his last presidential campaign in 2022 when he denied knowing Kim Moon-ki, a key figure in a prominent land development scandal. It was later revealed that Mr Lee had taken an overseas business trip with Kim Moon-Ki, which prosecutors claim amounted to the offence of publicly announcing false facts. In November 2024, he was convicted under the Public Official Election Act and given a one-year suspended prison sentence. He was cleared of the charges in March by an appeals court, but the ruling was overturned by South Korea's Supreme Court. A final verdict has yet to come in, though previous reports said that if the conviction were to stand he would have been unseated as a lawmaker and barred from running in the presidential election. Mr Lee was also indicted in 2023 on corruption charges in a $1 billion property development scandal during his time as mayor of Seongnam, a city about an hour south of Seoul. He allegedly colluded with private property developers to bring in hundreds of millions of pounds from the project, while costing the city 490 million won (£260,000). He was also accused of receiving or demanding around 18 billion won in bribes for a professional football club that was strapped for cash. Without Mr Yoon's declaration of martial law in December, it is unlikely that Lee would have become president. But pitted against Mr Kim, who refused to distance himself from the impeached former president, the door was opened for Lee to win. Dr Edward Howell, a North Korea specialist at the University of Oxford, told The Telegraph that Pyongyang would likely be pleased at the election result. 'I think what we might see with regard to inter-Korean ties is a much less hawkish approach in terms of sanctions, a much more pro-dialogue and pro-engagement approach. 'If you're North Korea, this shift in South Korean policy will be welcomed. The question now is if Lee Jae-myung offers an olive branch, will North Korea respond?' He added that the new president 'does not prioritise deterring North Korea' and this is 'really problematic at a time of heightened threat from North Korea'.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Chinese supermarket shoppers reveal how Donald Trump's brutal tariff move has impacted Aussie beef
Supermarkets in China have beefed up on Aussie meat amid tariff tensions between the US and the Asian superpower. Australian beef exports to China have soared in recent months in the wake of US president Donald Trump 's sweeping 'liberation day' tariffs regime earlier in the year. The rival economic superpowers have most recently accused each other of violating a tariff truce struck in Geneva last month. A Chinese woman shared vision of the meat section of her local supermarket, where shelves were filled with Australian beef where US products were previously stocked. She held up a 300g package of grain fed Angus beef as she complimented Australian growers. 'I guess I'm having Australian beef for dinner tonight, instead of American beef,' the woman said in English. 'And, honestly, because of the food quality, I probably trust Australian beef better. 'This box of beef right here is 50 RMB which is about $7 USD [AU$10.82].' @ China ditches American beef and chose Australian beef instead after this tariff war and I'm not complaining 😌🇦🇺🥩 #china #chinese #australia #australian #aussie #usa #america #american #tradewar #tariff #tariffwar #chinatiktok #travelinchina #chinatravel #xiaohongshu #rednote #viral #trend ♬ original sound - The Chinese woman then took a brutal swipe at the US. 'So to answer the question, China ain't hurting,' she said. 'If anything, I think we're probably doing even better because now we have better beef that tastes better and at a better price. 'So thank you Trump for that.' It comes after an American expat echoed similar sentiments when he stumbled across Australian Wagyu beef in a high-end Shanghai grocery store for $46 CYN ($9 AUD). 'I was going to buy some meat for dinner tonight and I was going to get some ground beef, so what used to be here is American ground beef and now … it says Australian ground beef,' the content creator explained in a TikTok video. 'The whole idea that China is hurting because of the tariffs, they're not, because they just buy from other places because they're not as dependent on the US. 'So China ain't hurting, and I guess we're all gonna start eating Australian beef in China now. I'm sure it tastes good so welcome to the new world.' Meat and Livestock Australia data showed a hefty increase in the nation's grain fed beef exports to China in 2025. More than 21,000 tonnes of Australian beef arrived in China in February and March, representing a 40 per cent increase on the same time last year. In April, Australia exported a record 37,000 tonnes of beef in a single month. China bought a third of that total. Australian exporters were capitalising on record levels of supply, according to experts. But MLA's global market analyst Tim Jackson was hesitant to attribute China's growing appetite for Australian meat to the ongoing trade war with the US. 'It's difficult to say at the moment, these are fairly early figures and we'd need to wait for more information to come out and get a better understanding of that trade dynamic,' he previously told the ABC. The beef trade between the US and China – worth an estimated AU$2.5billion to the Americans – has been largely halted by reciprocal tariff measures. The US Meat Federation stated 'the majority of US beef production is now ineligible for China' due to trade restrictions in April. 'This impasse definitely hit our March beef shipments harder and the severe impact will continue until China lives up to its commitments under the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement.' In April, global meat analyst Brett Stuart said that Australia was the 'lone supplier' of high-quality, white fat marbled beef in China. '(US beef) sales to China have fallen to zero … and not only is the market now closed based on the March 16 production date, but the combined retaliation tariffs by China now take the tariff on US beef to 116 per cent, a level that will quickly halt trade.' On Friday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer accused China of ' violating' a trade agreement made in Geneva in May. The handshake agreement between the world's two largest economies was widely seen as a way to tamper tensions. The agreement made between Mr Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top Chinese officials stipulated that the two countries would unwind tariffs and trade restrictions on certain critical minerals. Mr Greer accused China of slow-walking that process during the interview Friday. China was hit with a tariff rate in excess of 145 percent earlier this year before the agreement, but the rate then came down to around 30 percent. Trump said he expected to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping during an Oval Office press conference with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk on Friday.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Son Heung-min ‘could LEAVE Tottenham' as club look to cash in for squad transfer overhaul
TOTTENHAM legend Son Heung-min is set to leave the club, according to reports. The Spurs skipper lifted the Europa League in what could prove to be his final appearance. 1 Son has been in North London for the last ten years, playing 454 games and scoring 173 goals. But his time now appears to be up as Tottenham are looking to cash-in on him before his contract expires this time next year. The Telegraph report that a sale would bolster their summer transfer budget and fund a squad overhaul. Clubs from Saudi Arabia are interested in a deal for the Korean winger. Chiefs view him as a "recognisable world star" that could boost the Pro League's growth in Asia. Tottenham triggered a one-year extension in Son's contract in January. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
