International oil prices fell during trading on Thursday, before the monthly meeting of the OPEC + group, scheduled to be held today, during which the group is expected to certify a modest increase in production For the month of July 2022.
The drop in oil prices came in conjunction with a report published by the Financial Times, quoting five people familiar with the matter, about Saudi Arabia's willingness to increase crude production in the event that Russia's production fell significantly after EU sanctions.
Today, Brent crude futures for August delivery fell 1.33%, or the equivalent of $1.55, to $114.74 a barrel.
The US crude futures contract for July delivery also fell today by 1.53%, or the equivalent of $1.76, at the level of $113.50 a barrel.
It is scheduled to release official data on US inventories later today, after estimates by the American Petroleum Institute showed a decline of about 1.18 million barrels for the week ending May 27.