Oil prices fell on Monday after China said it released reserves of gasoline and diesel to boost supply, while investors unwound long positions ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on November 4.
China released reserves of the two fuels to increase market supply and support price stability in some regions, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said on Sunday.
Brent crude futures dropped 20 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $83.52 a barrel by 0039 GMT, after gaining 6 cents on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 37 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $83.20 a barrel, having risen 76 cents on Friday.
Both benchmarks fell slightly last week, marking the first weekly drop in eight weeks for Brent and the first decline in 10 weeks for WTI.
“Investors are adjusting positions after the news of China’s release of fuel reserves and ahead of the OPEC+ meeting,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.
All eyes are on the Nov. 4 meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and their allies, together called OPEC+, with analysts expecting them to stick to their plan to add 400,000 barrels per day of supply in December.
Oil prices rallied to multi-year highs last week, helped by the decision by OPEC+ to maintain its planned output increase rather than raising it on global supply concerns.
“Still, some investors want to square their positions as there is a chance that OPEC+ will decide a bigger increase in output,” Kikukawa said, adding that investors will resume buying after confirming the OPEC decision.
Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to Oct. 26, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
