OPEC+ Agrees to Keep Existing Pace of Easing Supply

OPEC+ Agrees to Keep Existing Pace of Easing Supply

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and his Kuwaiti counterpart Muhammad al-Fares during the OPEC + meeting (Asharq Al-Awsat)

OPEC and its allies stuck to their plan to cautiously bring back oil supply to the markets in June and July, but did not mention production plans for August.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) decided in April to return 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of supply to the market during May through July as it anticipated increased demand.

Since that decision, oil prices have extended their rally and gained more than 30 percent this year, although the prospect of more crude from Iran, as talks on reviving its nuclear deal make progress, has limited the upside.

On Tuesday, Benchmark Brent crude increased 2.5 percent to hit $71 a barrel, its highest since March. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 3.4 percent, to $68.59. Prices rose to their highest since October 2018.

Speaking after an online OPEC+ conference, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said he saw a good recovery in demand in the US and China.

The Minister indicated that the recent market developments confirmed that the decision to gradually increase production, made in April, was "the