(Bloomberg) — Oil snapped a three-session losing streak to settle near $72 a barrel after OPEC+ delegates said the cartel may postpone supply increases set to begin in April.
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It would be the fourth time the Saudi Arabia-led producer group has delayed plans to revive output. That’s eased worries about a supply surplus developing this year. The International Energy Agency is calling for an overhang of 450,000 barrels a day and, in the US, inventories are sitting at a three-month high while one measure of market tightness is flashing signs of oversupply.
Prices have tumbled since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with his hawkish positions on everything from trade to foreign policy dragging oil to 2025 lows. Money managers have slashed their net bullish position on crude, while market gauges including time spreads are flashing signs of weakness.
Another bearish headwind for crude emerged Tuesday, with the US and Russia agreeing to appoint teams to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion in 2022 prompted nations to put sanctions on its oil industry, and a peace agreement may include rolling back those restrictions, adding more supplies to the global market.
In the near-term, though, a disruption to Kazakh oil flows via a major export pipeline could rein in supplies in the region.
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–With assistance from Mia Gindis and Alex Longley.
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