Karoon leads oil selloff as OPEC+ supply plans weigh on prices
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Oil and gas producers slumped at market open, tracking a slide in global crude oil prices after OPEC+ countries confirmed they will proceed with a planned output increase from April.
Karoon Energy (-6.1%), Beach Energy (-2.8%), Woodside Energy (-2.5%), Ampol (-2.2%) and Santos (-2%) were all trading lower at 10:30am AEDT. The energy sector shed 2.5% as the ASX 200 index fell 0.9%.
Oil prices tumble on OPEC+ plans for increased supply
The news: Global crude oil prices tumbled to a three-month low after the OPEC+ producer group decided to proceed with a planned output increase from April.
The numbers: Benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.18% to USD71.22 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 2.35% to USD68.12 a barrel.
The context: The decline followed the decision by the OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and other allies to lift production from April amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to bring down prices. The planned increase would be the first since 2022. OPEC+ had been cutting output by 5.85 million barrels per day (bpd) since 2022 to support the market.
Concerns that Trump's planned tariffs could slow economic growth and weaken oil demand have also pressured prices in recent weeks.
The sources: OPEC media release, Bloomberg
