Oil prices drop after OPEC+ reaffirms supply return as demand wavers

 Oil prices fell after OPEC+ agreed to keep its policy of gradually returning supply to the market at a time when coronavirus cases around the world are surging and many US refiners remained offline

Brent crude was down by 16 cents, or 0.2%, at $71.43 a barrel by 0422 GMT, after dropping 4 cents on Wednesday. U.S. oil fell 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $68.36 a barrel, after rising 9 cents in the previous session.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Wednesday to continue a policy of phasing out record production reductions by adding 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month to the market.

However, OPEC+ raised its demand forecast for 2022 while also facing pressure to accelerate production increases from the Biden administration, which said it was "glad" the group had reaffirmed its commitment to raising supply.

"What is not so certain ... is whether demand will be able to grow as quickly as OPEC+ and the market predicts, given the risk of new lockdowns to fight the unresolved Covid-mutant spread," Rystad Energy's head of oil markets, Bjornar Tonhaugen, said in a note.

In the U.S., oil refineries in Louisiana may take weeks to restart after Hurricane Ida swept through the region, with operators facing power and water shortages, which is likely to crimp demand for oil.