Biden seeks to persuade Saudi to pump more oil as prices soar

Biden seeks to persuade Saudi to pump more oil as prices soar

LONDON: Joe Biden will make his first visit as US president to Saudi Arabia on Friday, where he will seek to persuade Riyadh to pump more oil to bring down prices that are fuelling inflation to the highest levels in decades. Prior to his election, Biden had vowed that Saudi should be a “pariah” state following the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a recalibration of relations with the oil-producing country that is a kingpin of the OPEC oil cartel.

However, since then, key crude producer Russia had invaded Ukraine, propelling oil prices to levels last seen during the 2008 global financial crisis. That pushed US inflation to the highest rate in more than four decades-and this could yet persuade Biden to set aside human rights concerns before key US midterm elections in November, experts say. “It highlights his desperation ahead of the midterms to at least be seen to be trying to alleviate the tightness in the market and bring prices back down,” OANDA analyst Craig Erlam told AFP. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

OPEC deal expiring

Biden’s chances could be boosted by the looming expiry of a crucial deal among the wider so-called OPEC+ group to boost oil