Oil prices continue to decline as OPEC+ considers raising output

Oil prices fell further on Monday, extending their sharpest weekly decline in two years. The downward pressure was driven largely by aggressive bearish bets from hedge funds, reacting to the temporary truce between Iran and Israel and expectations of increased production from OPEC+ nations, Bloomberg reports.

Brent crude fell to $66.60 a barrel following last week’s 12% plunge, while WTI dropped to $65.20.

According to Bloomberg, Iran has expressed doubts about whether its deal with Israel will last, although US President Donald Trump signaled willingness to ease restrictions on Tehran if it continues to engage in peaceful dialogue.

Meanwhile, key OPEC+ members are considering boosting output by 411,000 barrels per day in August. If approved, this would mark the fourth consecutive month of such significant production increases, triple the initially planned volumes, says the news agency.