International oil prices are weak, and OPEC+ is expected to bow to US pressure even if demand slows

On Wednesday (August 3), international oil prices weakened, and the market was worried that slowing global economic growth would hit fuel demand
.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (OPEC+) will hold a policy meeting later in the day to decide on future production
.
OPEC+ may have to raise oil production to avoid overheating the market, as the United States has previously put pressure
on OPEC+ to increase production.

Sources said OPEC+ could keep output unchanged in September, although a small increase in output could not be ruled out
.
OPEC+ cut its forecast for this year's oil market glut by 200,000 b/d to 800,000 b/d
ahead of the meeting, three representatives of the producers said.

OPEC+ member Kazakhstan said on Wednesday that OPEC+ may have to raise oil production to avoid overheating the market after the United States put pressure on OPEC+ to increase production, even though most members have exhausted spare capacity
.

Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said: "The focus of the oil market this week is the OPEC+ meeting, which should keep prices range-bound to some extent until OPEC and its partners decide on September production
.
" OPEC+ is not even close to meeting their previously set production targets, so oil prices could be supported
even if they announce a small production increase in September.
”

The G7 foreign ministers said they are considering a global ban on Russian crude oil and oil products by sea, unless the oil is purchased at a price not higher than agreed upon with international partners, "In considering various options, we will also establish mitigation mechanisms and restrictive measures to ensure that the most vulnerable and most affected countries can continue to access international energy markets
, including Russia.
" ”

The West imposed sanctions on Russia in an attempt to weaken war funding by reducing Russian oil
revenues.
Russian oil exports in June reached their lowest level
since August last year.

But due to higher prices, Russia's oil export revenue rose by $700 million month-on-month in June, 40% higher than last year's
average.
Western leaders have proposed addressing the issue by capping oil prices to limit what
refiners and traders can pay for Russian crude.

U.
S.
crude inventories rose by 2.
165 million barrels in the week ended July 29, compared with analysts' previous expectations of a 467,000 barrel decline, reinforcing pessimistic views on demand
, the latest data from the American Petroleum Institute (API).