Oil prices settled lower today after the Russian Deputy Prime Minister played down the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts. I don’t think that there will be any new steps because just a month ago certain decisions were made regarding the voluntary reduction of oil production by some countries… Novak was quoted as saying by Izvestia newspaper. Losses were curbed by optimism around the debt ceiling negotiations as the parties are reported to be closer to a deal as the deadline approaches. It is reported that the two sides are now only $70 billion apart. WTI traded down $2.51 or -3.4% to close at $71.83. Brent traded down $2.10 or -2.7% to close at $76.25.