Oil prices fell in early trade on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session when prices fell to a four-month low as investors worried about rising supply. late in the year.
The price of Brent fell 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $78.16 per barrel. Brent closed below $80 for the first time since February 7, after falling more than 3% on Monday.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were down 17 cents, or 0.2%, at $74.05. It also settled near a four-month low on Monday, after falling 3.6%.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia, known together as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to extend most of their oil production cuts until 2025, but left room for voluntary reductions by eight members, which will be gradually rolled back from October.
The extension of voluntary cuts into the third quarter is expected to amplify summer tensions in the crude market, while the possibility of a return of supply from October is a stronger indication than the extreme levels of support for the crude oil market. market by OPEC+ may not last forever, said Walt Chancellor, energy strategist at Macquarie.
Signs of weakening demand growth have also weighed on oil prices in recent months, with U.S. fuel consumption data in the spotlight. The average price of gasoline in the United States fell 5.8 cents per gallon to $3.50 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy data.
The US government will release data on inventories and supplied products on Wednesday. The delivered products, considered a demand indicator, will show the amount of gasoline consumed during the Memorial Day weekend, which marks the start of the driving season in the United States. (Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Sonali Paul)
