Oil falls 5.5% on oversupply fears; Brent below $100

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices slumped more than 5% on closing today, Aug. 30 as global supply concerns and the possibility of OPEC+ reducing production weighed on investor sentiment.

Brent crude dropped 5.5% to close at $99.31 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also lost 5.5% to settle at $91.64 a barrel.

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted an OPEC+ source saying that oil producers are currently not discussing the possibility of reducing crude production.

Prices tumbled after comments from Iraq's state-owned marketer SOMO that the country's oil exports had been unaffected by unrest, Reuters reported, citing said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

On the other hand, the US Department of Energy data showed that the strategic oil reserve decreased by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 26, to reach 450 million barrels – the lowest level in 38 years.

Prices felt more pressure when Russia's fastest-growing oil producer, Gazprom, said it plans to double oil output at its Zhagrin field in Western Siberia to more than 110,000 barrels per day.