FXStreet (Mumbai) – Oil benchmarks on both sides of Atlantic extend the previous drop and reversed Friday’s rally entirely, as focus shifts back towards fundamentals.
Iraqi supply in focus
Currently, WTI drops 2.227% to 29.66, while the Brent oil falls -0.80% to 30.73, diving deeper into the red. Oil prices extend the rout and now head towards the levels seen before the 2-day corrective rally as renewed supply concerns hit markets on news that Iraq’s output reached a record high last month, while reports that Iraq may raise production further this year to nearly 4 million barrels per day (bpd) also dragged the prices almost 6% lower on Monday.
Meanwhile markets have ignored comments from the OPEC officials regarding oil markets likely to rebalance this year, as oversupply worries outweigh any vague talks to resolve the supply overhang.
Further, the FOMC meeting begins its 2-day meeting later today and markets are likely to remain wary over the Fed’s interest rates outlook and Fed’s take on the recent volatility, Hence, cautious sentiment amidst markets will also keep the black gold undermined.
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)