Oil prices fell more than two percent at settlement on Wednesday ahead of an OPEC+ producers meeting early next week, which is expected to discuss a new increase in production targets for October.

Brent crude dropped $1.54, or 2.23%, to $67.60 per barrel at settlement, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.62, or 2.47%, to $63.97 per barrel at settlement.

Two sources said eight members of the OPEC+ alliance, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, will consider a new increase in oil production at the Sunday meeting as the group seeks to regain its market share.

Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group, said the chances of OPEC+ raising oil output increased ahead of the meeting. Investors expect the group to continue on this path.

The new increase would mean that OPEC+, which produces about half of the world’s oil supply, begins to phase out the second tranche of production cuts of about 1.65 million barrels per day, or 1.6% of global demand, more than a year ahead of schedule.

The group had already agreed to raise targeted production levels by about 2.2 million barrels per day from April to September.

Olli Huhalampi, an analyst at S.P. Bank, said, “If production is raised in line with the new quotas, we expect the market to see a large surplus in supply from September 2025 to 2026, with inventories rising unless new (production) constraints are imposed.”

However, actual increases from the group have not met those commitments, as some members cut production to compensate for previous surpluses while others faced difficulties raising output due to capacity constraints.

Weak economic data, which usually negatively affects oil demand outlooks, pressured oil prices. U.S. Labor Department data released Wednesday showed job openings, a measure of labor market demand, fell more than expected to 7.181 million in July. Economists surveyed had expected 7.378 million openings. Earlier this week, the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted for the sixth consecutive month.