Oil Prices Rise Slightly Amid Gulf Supply Developments

On Monday, oil prices experienced a slight increase while crude shipments continued to transit the Strait of Hormuz and OPEC+ reached an agreement to raise supply levels.

By 09:25 Moscow time, the August futures contract for U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 0.58% to reach $69.09 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the September futures contract for the global Brent crude blend increased by 0.26%, settling at $72.31 per barrel.

On Sunday, the OPEC+ group agreed to boost production targets by 188,000 barrels per day starting in August, alongside similar increases planned for June and July 2026.

However, this planned supply boost remains largely theoretical due to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers belonging to major OPEC producers such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, thereby constraining their output.

Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, commented, "The figure was largely in line with expectations," adding, "With the UAE stepping back and the possibility that quotas have not yet been met due to ongoing production increases after the conflict, I am not sure these numbers mean much at the moment."