Oil prices were little changed despite news that OPEC+ plans to end its supply increases, with the market weighed down by concerns about oversupply and weak factory data in Asia.

Brent crude futures fell 1 cent, or 0.02%, to $64.76 a barrel at 09:59 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3 cents, or 0.05%, to $60.95

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to increase production by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December and to pause increases in the first quarter of next year.

Brent and WTI both fell more than 2% in October, falling for three straight months and hitting a five-month low on October 20. Warren Patterson, Head of Commodity Research at ING, said the OPEC+ decision appears to be an acknowledgment of the large surplus facing the market, especially early next year.

"Clearly, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the scale of the surplus, which will depend on how much impact US sanctions will have on Russian oil flows," he added.

Helima Croft, Head of Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital, noted that Russia remains a key supply driver following US sanctions on Russian producers Rosneft and Lukoil and attacks on the country's energy infrastructure stemming from the war in Ukraine.

A Ukrainian drone strike hit Tuapse on Sunday, one of Russia's main oil ports on the Black Sea, causing a fire and damaging at least one vessel.

Analysts kept their oil price forecasts largely unchanged as increased OPEC+ production and sluggish demand offset geopolitical risks to supply, according to a Reuters poll. Estimates of the oil market surplus range from 190,000 to 3 million barrels per day.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Friday that U.S. crude oil production rose to a record 13.8 million barrels per day in August. Constraints for major manufacturing hubs in Asia continued in October, according to a business survey on Monday. Asia is the world's largest oil consuming region. (alg)

Source: Reuters