Asian Stocks Trade Lower amid Decline in Oil Prices over OPEC+ Output Increase

Stocks in Asia traded lower in the morning session on July 19, 2021, following the plummet in oil prices after OPEC+ agreed to a production increase by 400,000 barrels per day.

 

As of 9:10 local time in Thailand, Nikkei fell 1.43%, SSEC dropped 0.34%, HSI decreased 1.63%, ASX200 dipped 1.13%, and Kospi slipped 1.10%.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 1.42% to $70.79 a barrel and the International benchmark Brent Crude dropped 1.49% to $72.49 per barrel.

 

Over the weekend, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed in an online meeting to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels a day from August to December 2021 amid rising demand.

Moreover, the group decided to stop the production cut of 5.8 million barrels per day by September 2022, but is still subject to market conditions.