Oil prices traded slightly lower as investors largely stayed on the sidelines ahead of a highly anticipated OPEC+ meeting that could offer key signals about future supply levels

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that the OPEC+ group has not yet discussed increasing oil production by an additional 411,000 barrels per day ahead of its upcoming meeting

Oil prices extended losses during Asian trading and were headed for weekly declines due to renewed concerns over oversupply following a report that OPEC+ may be considering another production hike

The OPEC and its allies have agreed to accelerate oil production increases for the second consecutive month, raising output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June

New U.S. tariffs and an unexpected production increase from OPEC+ could trigger what the Bank of America called a “negative commodity demand shock”

Russia has ordered the Black Sea terminal handling Kazakhstan’s oil exports pumped by U.S. majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil to close two of its three moorings amid a standoff between Kazakhstan and OPEC+ over excess production

by 135,000 barrels per day in May.

That would be the second monthly increase under a plan to unwind some of the millions of barrels per day of cuts the group has had in place since 2022

The plan will represent monthly cuts of between 189,000 barrels per day and 435,000 bpd, according to a table on OPEC’s web site. The scheduled cuts last until June 2026

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported on Wednesday that Kazakhstan led a significant increase in production in February by OPEC+, highlighting the challenge the group faces in meeting agreed production targets

OPEC+ pushed back the start of oil output rises by three months until April and extended the full unwinding of cuts by a year until the end of 2026 due to weak demand and booming production outside the group