WTI falls to near $61.00 on OPEC's plan to raise output

• WTI price tumbles to near $61.00 in Tuesday's early European session. 
• OPEC+ is set to make another modest increase in oil output for December, potentially adding 137,000 bpd.
• US sanctions against Russia's biggest oil companies and US-China trade talks were also in focus. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $61.00 during the early European trading hours on Tuesday. The WTI falls after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) is reportedly considering a modest production increase in December. Traders brace for the American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly crude oil stock report later on Tuesday. 

Reuters reported that OPEC+ members are likely to agree on Sunday to increase December output targets by another 137,000 barrels per day (bpd). While the base scenario assumes restoring output to around 1.66 million bps, there is still no consensus on the pace of further expansion. The group's plans to increase oil output could weigh on the black gold in the near term. 

On the other hand, US sanctions against Russia's biggest oil companies could lift the WTI price. Last Wednesday, the Trump administration announced sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia's biggest oil producers, due to Russia's lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.

The initial positive developments surrounding US-China trade talks might underpin the WTI price. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that the agreement would remove the threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports set to take effect on November 1 and would include "a final deal" on the sale of TikTok in the US. 

Traders will closely monitor progress toward a US-China trade deal, with Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping set to meet at a summit on Thursday after top negotiators paved the way for an agreement.