Oil prices pause decline after hitting one-week lows

August 5, 2025 (MLN): Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday after three days of declines on mounting oversupply concerns after OPEC+ agreed to another large output increase in September, though the potential for more Russian supply disruptions supported the market.

Brent crude futures decreased by $0.52, or 0.76%, to $68.24 per barrel.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fall by $0.58, or 0.87%, to $65.71 per barrel by [2:26 pm] PST.

Both benchmarks dropped by over 1% in the previous session, closing at their lowest level in a week.

OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies and supplies about half of the world’s oil, had been limiting output for several years to support prices.

However, the group shifted strategy this year by introducing a series of accelerated production increases to reclaim market share.

In its most recent move, OPEC+ announced on Sunday that it would raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September.

This decision represents a full and early rollback of the group’s largest production cuts, totaling around 2.5 million barrels per day, or roughly 2.4% of global demand.

However, analysts warn that the actual volume returning to the market is expected to be lower.

Simultaneously, mounting pressure from the United States on India to halt purchases of Russian oil, as part of Washington’s efforts to urge Moscow toward a peace agreement in Ukraine, has raised fears of supply disruptions.

President Donald Trump has threatened to implement 100% secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian crude. This follows a 25% tariff imposed on Indian imports in July.

India, the largest importer of Russian seaborne crude, brought in approximately 1.75 million barrels per day from January to June this year an increase of 1% compared to the same period last year, according to trade data shared with Reuters.

“India has emerged as a key purchaser of Russian oil since the 2022 Ukraine invasion. Any disruption to this trade would compel Russia to seek alternative buyers among a shrinking pool of allies,” noted Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, in a report.

Meanwhile, traders are closely monitoring potential updates on recent U.S. tariffs affecting its trade partners, as analysts caution these measures could hinder global economic growth and reduce the pace of fuel demand expansion.

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