WTI drops below $73 as focus shifts to OPEC+ meeting

• Crude oil prices rose more than 3% last week.
• WTI came under renewed bearish pressure in the American session.
• OPEC+ will decide on its output strategy on Thursday.

Crude oil prices rose for the fifth straight week and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 3.6%. Although WTI extended its rally to a fresh multi-year high of $74.42 on Monday, it lost its traction during the American trading hours and was last seen losing 1.3%on the day at $72.98.

Eyes on OPEC+ meeting

Last week, several news outlets reported that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, was looking to ramp up its production by 500,000 barrels per day when they meet on Thursday.

However, Reuters said on Monday that OPEC forecasts were pointing to an oil supply deficit of 1.5 million barrels per day in August and in the rest of 2021, suggesting that the production increase could be larger than expected. This development seems to be weighing on crude oil prices.

Ahead of the OPEC+ meeting, the American Petroleum Institue's and the US Energy Information Administration's weekly crude oil stock data will be looked upon for fresh impetus.

Technical levels to watch for