Oil Prices Find Support near $60 as Demand accommodates OPEC+ Increases
Oil prices are stabilizing two days after a recent climb, bolstered by strong global demand that is absorbing increased production from the OPEC+ alliance. The market is currently finding a support level around $60 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude, despite earlier fears of a supply surplus. This development comes as OPEC+ moved forward with production increases and amid ongoing geopolitical factors impacting supply.
The stabilization follows a period of decline, including an 8% drop last week, driven by concerns that global oil production could outpace demand in the coming months. While forecasts from the International Energy Agency previously predicted a record surplus in 2026, and several Wall Street banks anticipated price decreases, revised demand expectations and supply disruptions are shifting the outlook. The situation impacts consumers globally, energy-dependent economies, and the strategic calculations of oil-producing nations.
Dennis Kisler, first vice president of trading at BOK Financial, noted the emerging support level, citing Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil facilities and the limited increase in OPEC+ output as key factors.
OPEC revised its 2026 oil demand growth forecast upward in August to 1.4 million barrels per day, a 100,000-barrel increase from its previous estimate. Though, the organization maintained its demand growth projection for the current year at 1.3 million barrels per day for the fifth consecutive month.
Saudi Arabia, a leading OPEC member, has held its official selling price to Asia steady for November, defying expectations from a Bloomberg poll of refineries and traders who predicted a potential 30-cent-per-barrel increase.
