Oil prices tumbled more than $1 per barrel on Monday, with Brent crude falling 2.51% to $59.75 and WTI dropping 2.81% to $56.61, after OPEC+ announced a sharp ramp-up in production for June. The move has intensified concerns about oversupply in a market already facing weak demand signals and growing recession fears.
The decision by eight OPEC+ members, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) marks a continued reversal of earlier cuts and brings the total additional production for April through June to 960,000 bpd nearly half of the 2.2 million bpd in cuts agreed since 2022.
Analysts say Saudi Arabia is pushing this acceleration both to discipline quota-flouting members like Iraq and Kazakhstan, and to challenge U.S. shale producers in a lower-price environment. Meanwhile, Barclays and ING have revised down their Brent crude forecasts, citing the rising supply and tariff-driven demand risks.
Adding to the bearish tone, data shows a 150 million-barrel global build-up in onshore and floating crude stocks since February, highlighting ongoing market imbalances.
