Oil prices take biggest monthly loss after staying low on jitters of new supply By Investing.com

Investing.com– Oil prices fell on Friday, weighed down by expectations that OPEC+ will raise production in October at a time when questions about the strength of the demand outlook persisted.

At 14:30 ET (18:30 GMT), it was down 3.3% to $73.45 a barrel, and down 2.5% to $76.83 a barrel.

Oil prices in August lost

US oil prices fell nearly 6% in August as growing fears of a global recession dampened the outlook for demand.

OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024, citing weaker-than-expected data in the first half of the year and an expected drop in demand from China.

Along with demand, supply concerns have also weighed on fears that OPEC and its allies or OPEC+ may follow through on initial plans to boost production in October.

The strength of the dollar adds to the oil crisis

A drop in oil prices was also shelved as bets on a major September rate cut were shelved after data showed they fell more than expected in July and remained firm.

Since oil has a dollar value, a stronger greenback tends to make oil more expensive and less attractive to foreign buyers.

About 30% of traders now expect a rate cut of 50bps in September, compared to 37% last week, Investing.com's.

Iraq's production cuts, Libya's shutdown supports oil

Oil prices were supported this week after Reuters reported that Iraq planned to cut its oil production in September as part of a deal with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Iraq will cut output to between 3.85 and 3.9 million barrels per day, after producing about 4.25 million bpd in July.

Production disruptions in Libya also continued, with reports suggesting that more than half of oil production this week was taken online this week as a dispute over the leadership of the country's central bank continued.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)