Crude oil prices fell mid-day on Tuesday, September 30, losing more than 5% since the beginning of the week, Monday, as expectations of an OPEC+ production increase next week increased. This is in addition to concerns about a global oversupply after Iraqi Kurdistan’s exports resumed over the weekend. Ahead of the American Petroleum Institute’s preliminary inventory figures later today, ahead of the official figures from the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday, US crude (NYMEX) rose by approximately $1.14, trading at $62.99 a barrel, while Brent crude traded at $67.26 a barrel, up approximately 1.01%.
Reports issued on Monday from sources familiar with the talks earlier in the week indicated that OPEC and its non-OPEC allies, led by Russia in the OPEC+ alliance, intend to approve a new production increase of 137,000 barrels per day starting in November at the organization’s meeting next Sunday. This has raised concerns about a global oil supply glut and put pressure on crude prices. Meanwhile, crude oil began flowing through pipelines from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to Turkey for the first time in two and a half years, following an agreement between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The resumption of approximately 230,000 barrels per day of oil from Kurdistan to the global market, which had been halted since March 2023.