Oil Down, China Releases Gasoline, Diesel Reserves By

© Reuters.

By Gina Lee

– Oil was down Monday morning in Asia, after China released gasoline and diesel reserves to boost supply. Investors also unwound long positions ahead of the latest Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) meeting.

Brent oil futures inched down 0.06% to $83.67 by 10:34 PM ET (2:34 AM GMT) and WTI futures was down 0.29% to $83.33.

China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said on Sunday that the reserves were released to increase market supply and support price stability. China is the world’s top oil importer.

"Investors are adjusting positions after the news of China's release of fuel reserves and ahead of the OPEC+ meeting," Nissan (OTC:NSANY) Securities general manager of research Hiroyuki Kikukawa told Reuters.

Also on investors’ radars is the OPEC+ meeting on Nov. 4, where the cartel is widely expected to leave its plan to add 400,000 barrels per day of supply in December 2021 unchanged. OPEC+ decided to maintain its planned output increase rather than raising it on global supply concerns last week, boosting oil to multi-year highs.

“Still, some investors want to square their positions as there is a chance that OPEC+ will decide a bigger increase in output," said Kikukawa. Investors will resume buying after the cartel announces its decision, he added.

Meanwhile, the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Rome that took place over the weekend ended with a disappointingly tepid agreement to limit the use of fossil fuels. Investors now look to the COP26 in Glasgow, taking place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12, to achieve a breakthrough.

Investors were also looking at the possibility of revived nuclear talks between Iran and world powers that could eventually pave the way for the former to resume oil exports. Talks with Europe could re-start “toward the end of November,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.

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