New york: Crude prices continued their upward trend for a second day on Monday, following OPEC+’s announcement of a smaller-than-anticipated output increase for November.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the recent gains were modest, averaging just 1 percent daily, despite a significant 7 percent decline from the previous week’s four-day selloff. US West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery rose by $0.81, or 1.3 percent, settling at $61.69 per barrel, after a 0.7 percent increase on Friday. Meanwhile, UK Brent crude for December delivery saw an increase of $0.94, or 1.5 percent, closing at $65.47 per barrel.

The announcement by the eight largest oil producers in OPEC+-Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman-revealed a second consecutive monthly output hike of 137,000 barrels per day (bpd), a figure far below market speculations of much larger increases. While analysts viewed the modest hike positively, concerns were also raised regarding declining US oil demand.

Analyst Julian Pineda, in a commentary on Forex.com, noted, “If demand falls more than expected-as seen recently in the US-the effect could be counterproductive, potentially disrupting the balance between supply and demand and creating a situation of excess supply against weak demand.” Such a scenario, he warned, could reignite market fears and selling pressures previously observed.

The shift in OPEC+ strategy-from prolonged production cuts designed to elevate prices to current output increases aimed at boosting exports-has contributed to a 10 percent market selloff over the past two months, following a near 8 percent rally in July. Additionally, the market faces downward pressure from the resumption of 200,000 bpd flowing in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan territory, which had been halted since 2023.