Quick overview

---

Oil prices fell as investors assessed the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff increases on major trade partners. Ongoing concerns about oversupply from rising OPEC+ production added additional pressure to the market.

Brent crude futures for September delivery dropped by 0.7% to $69.11 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also fell by 0.7% to $67.46 per barrel. Despite expectations of increased supply, both contracts gained 1% on Monday as traders gauged the overall tightness of the market.

President Trump intensified his global trade campaign by notifying 14 countries that significantly higher tariffs would take effect on August 1. This list included major U.S. suppliers (Japan and South Korea), as well as smaller exporters such as Serbia, Thailand, and Tunisia.

The tariff notices announced a 25% levy on all goods from Japan and South Korea, with some countries facing tariffs as high as 40%. Trump signed an executive order over the weekend to extend the original July 9 deadline to August 1, providing these countries with a final opportunity to negotiate. However, he indicated that while the deadline is “firm, but not 100% firm,” there is some flexibility for trade partners willing to engage.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, announced Saturday that it will increase oil output by 548,000 barrels per day in August.
This increase was larger than the 411,000 barrels per day hikes already implemented for May, June, and July.

The group also warned it will consider another 548,000 barrels per day increase in September at the meeting scheduled for August 3.

This decision continues the rollback of the voluntary 2.2 million barrels per day cuts that major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia initiated earlier this year to support prices.
Oil prices dropped sharply early Monday but recovered later in the day after Saudi Arabia increased the official selling price of its flagship Arab Light crude for August. August.