Oil Prices Continue to Slide, Now at US$70.82 per Barrel
Global oil prices were under pressure again during Thursday (2/7/2026) morning trading, extending a weakening trend that has persisted for several days.
According to Refinitiv data as of 09:55 WIB, Brent crude prices stood at US$70.82 per barrel, down 1.05% compared to the previous close. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at US$67.74 per barrel, weakening by 1.22%. In less than two weeks, Brent has plummeted approximately 12% from its position of US$80.57 per barrel on 19 June, while WTI has corrected by nearly 11.6% from US$76.60 per barrel.
Pressure on oil prices emerged following indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Doha, which concluded with results deemed positive.
The Qatari government revealed that both nations managed to achieve progress in negotiations focusing on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane that, prior to the outbreak of conflict, served as a transit for approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
During the two days of negotiations, both parties discussed the smooth flow of maritime traffic and the release of frozen Iranian funds. At the same time, tanker traffic has begun to recover to pre-conflict levels after being disrupted by attacks last weekend.
The recovery of export activities from the Gulf region has triggered expectations that global oil supply will become increasingly loose. Market participants are now shifting their attention to the potential for oversupply, especially as producer nations within OPEC+ are expected to increase production targets at next Sunday’s meeting.
Reuters noted that the increase in production quotas for August could potentially reach approximately 188,000 barrels per day, similar to the production additions in June and July. The prospect of additional supply is strengthening selling pressure in the oil market, particularly as competition for market share is expected to intensify following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
From the United States, oil inventory data actually provided a slight cushion. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude oil stocks fell by 3.8 million barrels to 408.4 million barrels last week, the lowest level since September 2018. However, this decrease was smaller than analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll, which had predicted a contraction of 4.5 million barrels.