(Bloomberg) -- Oil held near $75 a barrel in a volatile session as OPEC+ considers pushing back a series of monthly supply increases that were due to start in April. 

Brent futures fluctuated between small gains and losses in intraday trading. Global oil markets remain too fragile for OPEC+ to revive production now, said a group delegate, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. A decision is yet to be made, and the group is split on how to proceed, another delegate said.

At the same time, Kazakhstan’s primary oil export pipeline was operating at a reduced rate after an attack by drones, the facility’s operator said. The conduit was due to ship about 1.6 million barrels a day this month and next.

Price moves were broadly muted Monday, though, offset by some bearish factors. 

Iraq’s oil minister said exports from the semiautonomous Kurdistan region may resume within a week. That could mean the return of more than 300,000 barrels a day to the market. 

Some corners are flashing signs of weakness. West Texas Intermediate’s nearest futures flipped slightly Monday into a bearish structure known as contango, which signals oversupply.

Refiners are entering a period of maintenance, bolstering the chance of inventory builds at a key storage hub. Later contracts remain in a bullish pattern.

All the while, traders are watching the headlines from US President Donald Trump’s second term.

While he’s pressed OPEC+ to bring down prices and threatened tariffs on numerous trade partners, much of the market’s attention now is on his push for an end to the war in Ukraine. That raises the prospect of smoother flows from Russia’s heavily sanctioned oil industry.

What Bloomberg strategists say...

“For all of Donald Trump’s calls for lower oil prices, OPEC+ doesn’t appear to be rushing to comply. Brent at $74 a barrel is well below the level needed for many producers to balance their budgets, and any further decline poses political and economic risks for its members.”

— Read the full note from Markets Live editor Nour Al Ali here.

Trading also may be thinner Monday due to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the US. 

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--With assistance from Sherry Su and Yongchang Chin.

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