Kuwait Ups Oil Production in July

Kuwait raised its average crude oil output in July to 1.971 million barrels per day from about 1.65 million in June, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The source asked not to be named since they were not authorised to speak on the subject.

The rise in Kuwaiti output suggests that GCC oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are holding up despite disruptions caused by the escalation of the Iran war.

In recent months, GCC oil producers have exported crude through the strait on tankers with their AIS signals switched off to avoid detection and potential targeting by Iran.

A spokesperson for state oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corporation did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Kuwaiti oil output stood at just 580,000 bpd in May, compared with 2.5 million bpd before Iran effectively closed the strait in late February, triggering output cuts of millions of barrels per day across the GCC.