Oil prices faced downward pressure on Monday, driven by weak Chinese economic data, as commodity traders eagerly anticipated the upcoming OPEC+ meeting to discuss supply policy.
The market sentiment was influenced by conflicting statements from Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani over the weekend. Initially, Ghani indicated that Baghdad had already implemented production cuts and was hesitant to agree to further reductions. However, he later emphasized that any decision regarding production levels would be determined by OPEC as a whole, pledging to abide by the group’s consensus. The OPEC+ meeting is scheduled for June 1.
In addition to developments in the oil market, investors are closely monitoring economic indicators from the euro area, with inflation and growth figures expected to be reported this week. Furthermore, a series of speeches from Federal Reserve officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, will provide insights into the central bank’s monetary policy outlook and its assessment of economic conditions.