FX.co ★ Oil Prices Hold Gains

WTI crude oil futures steadied around $61.7 per barrel on Tuesday, following a gain of more than 1% in the previous session. This uptick came after OPEC+ announced a smaller-than-anticipated increase in production. The group plans to raise output by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, consistent with October's figures. Market analysts interpret this move as cautious, grappling with ongoing concerns of a market inundated with surplus supply. Contributing factors include elevated Venezuelan exports, resumed Kurdish oil flows through Turkey, and the availability of unsold Middle Eastern barrels for November, all intensifying global supply pressures. Concurrently, supply disruptions from Russia lent some upward support to prices. Ukraine's recent attack on Russia's Kirishi oil refinery, which resulted in a shutdown of the facility's most productive unit, is expected to require up to a month of repairs, temporarily tightening regional supply. Nonetheless, ongoing expectations of fragile demand fundamentals in the fourth quarter continue to limit potential market gains.