Crude oil price drops on Opec supply figures
CRUDE oil production by members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) reached its highest level in three years in July, despite Saudi Arabia indicating it had pulled back, figures showed yesterday.
Brent crude oil tumbled to below $49 a barrel at one point yesterday, after rallying on Monday, driven by concerns over continued oversupply in the market.
Opec’s monthly oil market report suggested total output among member countries rose 100,700 barrels per day to 31.5m.
The increase was driven partly by Iran, which increased oil output to 2.86m barrels per day, its highest level since before international sanctions were issued upon the country.
And analysts at Accendo Markets warned that “there is still some work to be done before a bottom can officially be called” on the benchmark price, citing “pressure remaining in the form of increasing oversupply with Iranian oil awaiting the go ahead to enter the market”.
Western powers recently lifted the sanctions on Iran, leading to fears that the oil market may be flooded with even more supply in the near future.