Oil Nears Third Monthly Decline Amid OPEC+ Increase

Oil traded around $60 a barrel for WTI and near $65 for Brent as markets stayed cautious ahead of U.S.-China trade talks in Busan and an OPEC+ meeting, with prices giving up recent gains and set for a third consecutive monthly decline. Traders were watching a reported OPEC+ plan to add roughly 137,000 barrels per day in December that could boost supplies. U.S. sanctions on major Russian producers and Washington’s push for Beijing to curb Russian imports have added flow uncertainty, with at least one tanker reported to have turned back and some Indian refiners pausing new Russian purchases. Mixed U.S. inventory data — including an EIA draw of about 6.86 million barrels and API estimates of roughly a 4 million-barrel fall — provided short-term support. Despite hopes that a Fed rate cut and improving demand could help, persistent oversupply concerns and the prospect of higher OPEC+ output have left oil on track for its longest losing streak since mid-2023.