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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery added $1.45 to $75.55 on the New York Merc, while Brent for August added $1.46 to $79.87 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $14.70 to WTI, down from a discount of $14.00. Natural gas for July added six cents to $2.82. The TSX energy index added 2.89 points to close at 284.82.

Oil prices headed higher, buoyed by a show of solidarity from ministers of OPEC+. Prices previously fell to four-month lows in the wake of the group's meeting on Sunday, when it extended its 3.6-million-barrel-a-day cuts to the end of 2025, but said it could start winding down a separate 2.2-million-barrel-a-day layer of cuts as early as this October. At a panel today during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, ministers defended the revisions and criticized the market's bearish reaction.

The "bashing" of the agreement is puzzling, according to OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais of Kuwait. "[The market wanted] a clear road map of how these production adjustments are going to be phased out," he said, "... [but when] we deliver that, it's confusing and becomes negative. So sometimes it's really hard to understand." Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman added that the revised agreement leaves room to pause or reverse the phase-outs if necessary. Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak chimed in that the adjustments are "very adequate" and are "leading us in the right direction."

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