Oil heads for its biggest monthly loss this year ahead of OPEC+ meet

Oil headed for the biggest monthly loss since October as investors weighed the prospect of additional OPEC+ production and the restoration of crude output in the U.S. after Hurricane Ida.

West Texas Intermediate was steady above $69 a barrel after rising 0.7% on Monday. While Gulf of Mexico crude producers are expected to gradually resume service after Ida crashed ashore in Louisiana, local refineries may be slower.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will meet on Wednesday to assess the global market and prospects for demand as the pandemic grinds on. With expectations the hit to consumption from the delta variant will fade, they are on course to restore another 400,000 barrels a day.