Oil prices continue to drop, Brent trades below $100 a barrel

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices continued to drop today, Aug. 2, amid fears of global economic recession and lower demand ahead of the OPEC+ meeting.  

A Reuters survey on Monday showed that OPEC produced 28.98 million bpd in July in total, with around 240,000 bpd coming from OPEC+.

Traders are also anticipating an OPEC+ meeting tomorrow, Aug. 3, on supply and tracked signs that physical markets have become less tight in recent weeks.

Markets are also watching US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia. The visit, which is the first for a US House speaker in 25 years, comes at a time when US-China relations are already at a low point.

Brent crude futures for October delivery edged down 0.26%, or 45 cents lower, at $99.7 a barrel at 9:14 Makkah time, trading below $100 a barrel for the first time in more than a week. 

WTI futures for September delivery also slipped 0.13%, or 16 cents, to $93.73 a barrel, after hitting their lowest level at $93.66 a barrel since April earlier.