At 8:08 a.m. on September 2, Vietnam time, the price of North Sea Brent crude fell 57 US cents, or 0.7%, to $76.36 a barrel. Meanwhile, the price of US light sweet crude (WTI) fell 50 US cents, or 0.7%, to $73.05 a barrel. The prices of these two types of oil decreased 0.3% and 1.7%, respectively, last week.

OPEC+ is expected to increase oil production as planned from October, sources familiar with the matter said. The eight members of OPEC+ are expected to increase production by 180,000 barrels per day in October.

Meanwhile, in Libya, Arabian Gulf Oil Company has ramped up production back up to 120,000 barrels per day to meet domestic demand, while exports remain suspended, after fighting shut down most of the country’s oil fields.

Both Brent and WTI have fallen for the past two months as concerns about the health of the Chinese and US economies outweighed the impact of supply disruptions in Libya and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Data released recently showed that China’s manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low in August, while producer prices fell and new orders fell. China’s weaker-than-expected purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has added to concerns that the country’s economy will miss its growth targets, said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG.

Meanwhile, in the US, data from the US Energy Information Administration recently showed that oil consumption in June fell to its lowest seasonal level since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.

“We see a potential slowdown in growth in 2025, due to economic headwinds in China and the US,” ANZ analysts said. As a result, they believe OPEC will have no choice but to delay its production increase if it wants to boost oil prices.