Mint Quick Edit | Opec’s scramble is doing India a good turn

On Monday, Brent crude oil prices fell to $67.83 per barrel after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies raised their production target by 548,000 barrels per day for August. 

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While Brent later rebounded, this extra supply would exceed the cartel’s last increase of 411,000 barrels per day for the preceding three months (a major ramp-up). The cartel cited tight supply and healthy demand, although the global market’s story is quite the opposite.

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Abundant supply amid weak consumption in a tariff-rattled world economy has spelt a glut. This suggests we can expect prices to stay range-bound in a comfort zone, even as Opec scrambles for market share now that it’s clear it can’t count on hardening prices to meet the revenue aspirations of its member countries.

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For importers such as India, this sounds just fine. With global trade patterns undergoing an upheaval, it’s best if India’s oil dependence doesn’t complicate its balance of payments.