Investing.com -- Oil and gas stocks are down sharply today following an announcement by OPEC+ members that they plan to increase oil production from May, in addition to the U.S. President Donald Trump introducing aggressive tariffs.
At 11:18 EST (15:18 GMT), Crude Oil WTI Futures were down 7.6% to $66.25, while Brent Oil Futures registered a 6.9% decline to exchange hands at $69.73.
The S&P 500 Energy fell by as much as 5.4%, which marks the most substantial intraday decline since March 2023. All stocks in the 23-member index saw a decrease.
Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) led the decline with a plunge of as much as 11.9%.
Roth analyst Leo Mariani noted in a report that OPEC is likely aware that their decision to increase production would exert downward pressure on oil prices in the near term.
Mariani suggested that the group is either penalizing non-compliant members for over-production or anticipating that countries under sanctions, such as Iran and Venezuela, will face significant losses in the near term.
The tariffs proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are also having an impact on oil prices. Mizuho analysts noted on Thursday that these tariffs pose a threat to the global economy and could lead to a decrease in demand for crude oil.
Mizuho analysts also noted that any shocks to global transportation would negatively impact crude oil.