Oil prices fall ahead of an OPEC+ summit

As investors prepared for this week's meeting of OPEC and other major producers to discuss supply modifications, oil prices declined on Monday morning.

At 0000 GMT, Brent oil futures declined 63 cents, or 0.6 percent , to $103.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil was trading at $97.87 per barrel, a decrease of 75 cents or 0.7%, after hitting a session low of $97.55 when trading in Asia began.

The price of both futures contracts climbed by more than $2 a barrel on Friday, as the risk appetite of investors grew. However, both Brent and WTI ended July with a second consecutive monthly decline for the first time since 2020, as rising costs and interest rates fueled concerns that a recession would restrict gasoline use.

According to ANZ analysts, gasoline use is below the five-year average for this time of year and fuel sales to British motorists are dropping. In reaction, for the first time since April, experts polled by Reuters cut their projections for the average Brent price in 2022 to $105.75 per barrel and for WTI to $101.28 per barrel.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, will meet on Wednesday to set September production.

Two of eight OPEC+ sources questioned by Reuters said that a slight increase for September would be discussed at the August 3 meeting, while the other six sources indicated that output will likely stay constant.

The meeting follows Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia last month.

While President Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia did not result in immediate oil shipments, Helima Croft, an analyst at RBC Capital, thinks that the Kingdom will continue to gradually increase output.

In 2020, at the beginnings of the COVID-19 outbreak, OPEC+ has completely reversed the dramatic production restrictions enacted at the start of August.

Sunday, the group's new secretary general, Haitham al-Ghais, emphasized that Russia's participation in OPEC+ is important to the success of the accord, as reported by the Kuwaiti newspaper Alrai.

Baker Hughes reports that the number of oil rigs in the United States climbed by 11 in July, marking the 23rd consecutive month of rise.