OPEC and its allies need to find a balance between supporting oil prices and keeping U.S. crude production at bay, a strategist told CNBC this week as the oil-producing group starts to roll back supply cuts. The alliance’s historic production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day expired on July 31 this year. From August, the cuts will be tapered to 7.7 million bpd. Oil prices fell on Monday due to oversupply concerns, Reuters reported, noting that oil output already increased by 1 million bpd in July when Gulf countries ended their voluntary extra supply curbs. “I think we’re witnessing kind of a high-wire … balancing act that OPEC+ is trying to execute here,” said John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Services. OPEC+ in April made a deal to reduce supply to the market in a bid to support prices, which went into a “free fall” earlier this year amid demand destruction due to the coronavirus and a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 1.22% at $39.78 a barrel during Asia’s afternoon trade, while Brent crude was down 0.94% at $43.11 a barrel. “The way I see it, this is a very delicate, fragile balancing act and there’s this cloud of uncertainty overhanging all of it, on the pace of the recovery,” Driscoll said. He noted that it is difficult to predict how quickly the economy can recover. CNBC

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