OMC stocks in focus as oil prices slide over $2/bbl after OPEC+ output hike
Shares of oil marketing companies - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) are likely to remain in focus on Monday. Oil prices dropped by over $2 a barrel as OPEC+ prepared to accelerate its oil production increases.
ADVERTISEMENT Brent crude futures dropped $2.04 a barrel, or 3.33%, to $59.25 a barrel by 2240 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $56.19 a barrel, down $2.10, or 3.60%.
Both crude benchmarks hit their lowest levels since April 9 at Monday's open, following OPEC+'s decision to boost oil production for a second straight month, with output in June rising by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The June increase by the eight members will bring the total combined output hikes for April, May, and June to 960,000 barrels per day (bpd), effectively reversing 44% of the 2.2 million bpd in production cuts implemented since 2022, according to Reuters calculations.OPEC+ could fully reverse its voluntary production cuts by the end of October if member nations fail to improve compliance with their output quotas, sources told Reuters. Saudi Arabia is reportedly pushing for a faster rollback of cuts to penalize Iraq and Kazakhstan over their continued non-compliance.
Also read: Oil slumps after OPEC+ plan, US stock futures drop
ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, tensions escalated in the Middle East after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged retaliation against Iran following a missile strike by the Tehran-backed Houthi group near Israel's main airport.In response, Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned on Sunday that Tehran would retaliate if attacked by the United States or Israel.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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