Oil prices spark after Opec pauses output hikes

(Sharecast News) - Global oil prices pushed higher on Monday, after Opec and its allies agreed to curtail plans to hike output. Meeting on Sunday, eight Opec+ members - including leading members Saudi Arabia and Russia - agreed to increase December's output targets by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd), unchanged on October and November.

However, they also opted to pause production increments across the first quarter of 2026.

The oil cartel attributed the decision to "seasonality". Oil demand is generally weaker after the holiday season, and a number of refineries close for scheduled maintenance. But it also coincides with mounting concerns of a potential oil glut.

Opec+ has been upping quotas throughout 2025, and the International Energy Agency is now forecasting an oil surplus of a record 4m barrels per day in 2026, equivalent to almost 4% of world demand.

Last week, Shell chief executive Wael Sawan warned there was a "credible scenario of oversupply".

As at 0900 GMT, benchmark Brent was up 0.5% at $65.08, while West Texas Intermediate was trading at $61.28.

Shares in Shell and BP, meanwhile, were both 1% higher, at 2,864.5p and 445.05p respectively.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The move eases fears of oversupply, while fresh US sanctions on Russian oil majors and weekend drome strikes on key infrastructure add geopolitical risk to the mix."