LONDON—Oil prices fell for a third day on July 8 amid uncertainty about supplies after the collapse of OPEC+ talks this week raised the possibility that their deal to curb output could fall apart.

Brent crude oil futures were down 35 cents, or 0.4%, at $73.08 a barrel by 7:55 CDT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 51 cents, or 0.7%, at $71.69. By 9:30, Brent had recovered to $73.43 and WTI was up to $72.15.

Both contracts hit their lowest in about three weeks earlier in the session.

But the Brent six-month spread remains in backwardation with the front-month price higher than later months. “This suggests that no immediate flooding of the market is anticipated,” PVM analysts said in a note.

Brent prices have fallen as much as $5 a barrel since the July 5 close after the collapse of negotiations on July 5 between OPEC and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+.

Saudi Arabia refused demands from the United Arab Emirates to raise the amount it produced under terms of a pact on cutting supplies that was first agreed by OPEC+ in 2020, when oil prices have plunged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group is still holding back almost 6 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of output and had been expected reduce those cuts this year but three days of talks failed to resolve the dispute.

Russia was trying to mediate to help to strike a deal to raise oil output, OPEC+ sources said on July 7.

Concerns about the pandemic also weighed on prices. Japan, the world’s fourth-largest oil user, is set to declare a state of emergency for the Tokyo area and South Korea reported its highest daily tally of COVID-19 cases.

But prices found some support from a large drop in U.S. inventories. Crude stockpiles in the world’s biggest oil consumer fell by 8 million barrels for the week ended July 2, two market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures.

Government inventory data is due on July 8, pushed back a day after the observed Independence Day holiday on July 5.

The reduction in U.S. oil production is expected to slow this year, with the Energy Information Administration saying on July 7 output would 11.10 million bbl/d in 2021, more than previously forecast.