2018.05.2721:59:00UTC+00Energy Stocks Tumble as OPEC Considers Production Increase

Energy stocks in the Asia-Pacific region slid on Monday after news that producer cartel OPEC was mulling to increase production triggered oil prices to tank on Friday.

The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index was last down 2 percent, at its lowest since April 26. Among the large producers, Beach Energy edged down 4.7 percent, Woodside Petroleum fell 2.7 percent, Santos edged down 2.4 percent and Origin Energy fell 1.9 percent. The decline in energy stocks weighed down the broader S&P/ASX 200 index by 0.4 percent.

In early trading in Tokyo, the energy sector of the Topix index was the underperformer, falling 3 percent, countering gains from the majority of other sectors and pulling the index into negative territory.

The pressure on energy stocks came after oil prices ended a gaining streak on Friday, with the Brent crude closing down almost 3 percent on the day after OPEC's de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia, and Russia said that they were mulling to ease curbs on production.

The option comes amid potential supply disruption risks from Venezuela and Iran, which are both under threat by U.S. sanctions.

Oil prices also continued to slide on Monday. The international benchmark Brent was off 0.5 percent at $76.04 per barrel and the U.S. WTI, the U.S. benchmark, fell 0.8 percent at $67.34. In recent weeks, both prices have been trading near their highest since late 2014 as the tension over Iran and Venezuela, as well as continued OPEC-led production cuts, propped up prices.