Oil Prices Plunge as OPEC+ Agrees Production Surge

Oil prices dropped sharply after OPEC+ agreed to accelerate production increases, raising concerns about an oversupplied market. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude both fell over 3%, reaching their lowest levels since early April, with the group set to bring as much as 2.2 million barrels per day back to the market by November. The June production hike—411,000 barrels per day—nearly triples earlier forecasts and follows a similar increase in May. This surge in supply comes amid fears that rising tariffs and economic uncertainty could weaken global oil demand. As a result, oilfield service companies expect lower investment in exploration and production, and major oil firms have reported declining earnings. U.S. stock futures also edged lower in response to the oil price slump and ahead of the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.