Oil futures fell nearly 2% as investors awaited an imminent OPEC+ decision on production cuts, while a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles last week lent some support to prices

The oil market is currently balanced and demand is expected to average 104.5 million barrels per day this year, the CEO of Saudi Arabian oil giant Saudi Aramco said

Oil prices have plunged more than 5% after Israel’s weekend airstrikes on Iran targeted military objectives, avoiding oil and nuclear facilities

The purchases are part of an effort to replenish stockpiles after President Joe Biden ordered the largest ever sale from the reserve in 2022 of 180 million barrels in an effort to control fuel prices

OPEC+ agreed to extend most of its deep oil output cuts well into 2025 as the group seeks to shore up the market amid tepid demand growth, high interest rates and rising rival U.S. production

A meeting of senior OPEC+ ministers kept oil output policy unchanged and pressed some countries to increase compliance with output cuts

The oil market could be heading for a supply crunch from 2025 onwards as oil exploration fails to keep pace with demand, Occidental Petroleum, opens new tab Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said

Global oil demand is expected to increase by almost 2 million barrels a day in 2024, with China accounting for more than 25% of the increase, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report

OPEC+ plans to hold a meeting of its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in early February, though an exact date has not been decided

This trend implies that the group may encounter challenges in easing production cuts unless there is a significant acceleration in global oil demand or OPEC is willing to accept lower prices