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October WTI crude oil is down by $1.75 (-2.67%) and October RBOB gasoline is down by $0.0301 (-1.47%) as of today. This decline is attributed to concerns of a global oil supply glut, triggered by a Reuters report that OPEC+ may increase crude production levels. The weaker-than-expected US economic indicators also negatively impacted energy demand prospects and crude prices.
Recent US economic data shows July job openings fell by 176,000 to 7.181 million, the lowest in 10 months, while factory orders dropped by 1.3% month-over-month. Additionally, OPEC+ has endorsed a production increase of 547,000 barrels per day starting September 1, with plans to gradually restore a total of 2.2 million barrels per day of production by September 2026. This comes as OPEC’s crude production rose by 400,000 barrels per day in August to 28.55 million, the highest in over two years.
Crude oil stored on stationary tankers decreased by 18% week-over-week to 72.67 million barrels. Meanwhile, US crude oil production rose to 13.439 million barrels per day as of the week ending August 22, while the number of active US oil rigs increased by 1 to 412 rigs.
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