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OPEC+ to consider raising oil production further, sources

say

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OPEC+ meeting set for Sunday

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US crude stocks rose last week, sources say

(Updates with new analyst quotes and latest prices)

By Sam Li and Trixie Yap

Sept 4 (Reuters) - Oil prices declined by 1% on

Thursday, extending the more than 2% decline of the previous

session, as investors and traders looked ahead to a weekend

meeting of OPEC+ where producers are expected to consider

another increase in output targets.

Brent crude fell 62 cents, or 1%, to $66.96 a barrel

by 0641 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude

fell 64 cents, or 1%, to $63.33 a barrel.

Eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting

Countries and allies - known together as OPEC+ - will consider

further increases to production in October at a meeting on

Sunday, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters,

as the group seeks to regain market share.

"The market seems to be absorbing the supply increases

relatively well during 3Q high season, but the test for oil

prices will be potential inventory build-ups during the winter

months," said Suvro Sarkar, DBS Bank energy sector team leader.

"We do not see too many positive drivers at this point,

assuming geopolitical issues stay contained. Support for oil

prices could diminish hereon," he added, expecting Brent prices

to trade closer to $60-$65 per barrel in the near to medium

term.

OPEC+ had already agreed to raise output targets by about

2.2 million barrels per day from April to September, in addition

to a 300,000 bpd quota increase for the United Arab Emirates.

Over the past few months, despite the accelerating

production increases, Middle Eastern oil prices have remained

the strongest regional prices globally. This has bolstered the

confidence of Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to boost

output, according to a Haitong Securities' report.

Weighing further on prices were some shaky U.S.

macroeconomic data overnight that cast doubts on the strength of

demand in the world's biggest oil consumer, some analysts said.

Weak price drivers for oil include "weak labour market

conditions in the U.S.... most of the decline in July's job

openings came from the acyclical parts of the job market, such

as healthcare, which has been a major driver of job growth in

2025," said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.

Markets are also awaiting government data on U.S. crude

stockpiles due on Thursday, a day later than usual because of a

U.S. holiday on Monday.

U.S. crude stocks rose by 622,000 barrels in the week ended

August 29, market sources said, citing American Petroleum

Institute (API) figures on Wednesday.

The API estimate for a U.S. build in crude stocks went

against analysts polled by Reuters who estimated, on average,

that U.S. crude inventories fell by 2 million barrels.

(Reporting by Sam Li in Beijing and Trixie Yap in Singapore;

Additional reporting by Nicole Jao in New York; Editing by Tom

Hogue, Christian Schmollinger and Muralikumar Anantharaman)