Oil Drops on Signs OPEC+ Preparing to Taper Production Cutbacks

Oil Drops on Signs OPEC+ Preparing to Taper Production Cutbacks

Oil Drops on Signs OPEC+ Preparing to Taper Production Cutbacks



(Bloomberg) “” Oil edged lower ahead of an OPEC+ meeting this week at which the group may announce plans to start tapering historic production cuts even as the coronavirus surges unabated in many parts of the world.

Futures in New York fell toward $40 a barrel after closing up 2.4% on Friday. The producer bloc will review the state of the market at an online meeting on Wednesday amid expectations it will soon begin unwinding the output curbs. Russia's top oil companies are preparing to increase output next month in the absence of other guidance from the Energy Ministry, according to two people from the industry who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The increase in supply would come as the still-raging pandemic clouds the demand outlook. The U.S. is struggling to control the outbreak, with many states reversing re-opening plans. Australia's second-largest city, meanwhile, went back into lockdown last week as the virus made a comeback there.

The OPEC+ cutbacks have been instrumental in driving the recovery in oil prices from their nadir in April and the challenge confronting the group is how to avoid an erosion of those hard-fought gains. The International Energy Agency said in a