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Oil held a drop on signs Saudi Arabia is seeking another big production increase at next month’s OPEC+ meeting, in a bid for market share that could worsen a glut expected later this year.

Brent traded below $65 a barrel after losing 1.2% in the previous session, while West Texas Intermediate was under $63. The kingdom wants the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to continue to add at least 411,000 barrels a day of output in August and potentially September, according to people familiar with the matter.

“Once Saudi Arabia takes the lead in accelerating output increases, historical experience suggests that the market could face the risk of a price war, which would be highly unfavorable for oil prices,” said Gao Jian, an analyst at Qisheng Futures Co.

Gold held gains, after weaker-than-expected US data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at least twice this year to prevent a recession.

Bullion traded near $3,375 an ounce, following a 0.6% increase on Wednesday, after separate reports showed a contraction in US service providers and a deceleration in hiring. Treasury yields fell after the prints, with swap traders pricing in two Fed reductions in October and December. Lower rates are typically a tailwind for gold, which doesn’t bear interest.

Elsewhere, fears about worsening friction between the US and some of its major trading partners resurfaced after President Donald Trump doubled steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%. Separately, he labeled Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as “extremely hard to make a deal with”.

Wall Street had a rangebound and listless trading session on Wednesday after some disappointing macro data on the private payrolls and services PMI front.

The Dow Jones ended in the red but the outperformance in tech shares contributed to modest gains in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Futures on Wall Street are pointing towards a positive start to the trading session ahead of two important numbers that will be reported over the next two days.

The Dow futures are up 70 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are also trading just above the flat line.

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