OPEC+ weighs output policy as Omicron fears hammer prices

OPEC+ weighs output policy as Omicron fears hammer prices

LONDON - OPEC and its allies will decide on Thursday whether to release more oil into the market or restrain supply amid big gyrations in crude prices, a U.S. release from oil reserves and fears over the new Omicron coronavirus variant. Brent oil prices tumbled to around $70 a barrel, down from October's three-year highs above $86. Prices last month registered their biggest monthly decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as the Omicron variant raised fears of an oil glut. Benchmark Brent crude was trading below $70 on Thursday. The OPEC+ group of producers comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies has been at odds with U.S. requests for increased oil output to support the global economy. Producers said they didn't want to hamper a fragile energy industry recovery with a new supply glut. Russia and Saudi Arabia, the biggest OPEC+ producers, said ahead of this week's meetings that there was no need for a knee-jerk reaction to amend policy. Iraq said that OPEC+ was expected to extend existing output policy in the short term. Since August the group has been adding an additional 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of output to global