Crude oil prices fell more than 2% in mid-European trading today, Thursday, May 1, marking the fourth session of declines after reports indicated that Saudi Arabia may announce another production increase in June. Brent crude fell by about 2.19%, trading at $59.61 per barrel, while US crude (NYMEX) traded at $56.83 per barrel, down about 2.37%.
A Bloomberg report indicated that Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ may announce another increase in supplies in June at the May 5 meeting. The increase is expected to be larger than agreed upon, following an increase of 411,000 barrels in May. This move comes as a punishment for members of the organization that are overproducing, such as Kazakhstan and Iraq. In contrast, data released by the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed a decline in US crude oil inventories of 2.7 million barrels in the week ending April 25, compared to expectations for a 100,000-barrel increase. Gasoline inventories fell by about 4 million barrels, while distillate inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, rose by about 900,000 barrels. Crude prices recorded their worst monthly decline in April at the end of trading yesterday, Wednesday, since November 2021. US crude lost about 18%, while Brent lost 15% of its value, amid rising concerns about global oil demand and the tariff war that began in early April.