Oil prices eased after OPEC+ decided to pursue their plans to increase crude oil production in anticipation that global markets could absorb additional supply as demand increased.
In the Asian session, Brent crude futures traded lower at $ 71.25 a barrel, while US WTI fell around $ 68.20 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia, known as OPEC+, have agreed to pursue plans to increase monthly crude oil production by an additional 400,000 barrels a day.
While the effects of the Covod-19 pandemic continue to cause some uncertainty, market hope has strengthened and supply in OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries as its recovery accelerates, according to OPEC+ in a statement.
At the same time, OPEC+ also changed its oil demand growth forecast for 2022, by increasing it to 4.2 million barrels per day from the previous 3.8 million barrels per day, showing the potential for more production increases in the future.
Meanwhile, in the United States, crude oil supplies continued to show a decline last week despite an increase in coronavirus infections nationwide, with a decline of 7.2 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
