OPEC+ agrees oil output cut to prop up prices

OPEC+ agrees oil output cut to prop up prices

VIENNA: The OPEC+ oil cartel agreed Monday to cut production for the first time in more than a year as it seeks to lift prices that have tumbled due to recession fears. The move could irk the United States as it has pressed the group to increase output in order to bring down energy prices that have fueled decades-high inflation. OPEC+, a 23-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, had agreed to huge cuts in output in 2020 when the COVID pandemic sent oil prices crashing, but it began to increase production modestly again last year as the market improved.

Oil prices soared to almost $140 a barrel in March after Russia invaded Ukraine. But they have since receded below $100 per barrel amid recession fears, COVID lockdowns in major consumer China and Iran nuclear talks that could bring Iranian crude back into the market. While analysts had expected another modest increase at Monday’s ministerial meeting, OPEC+ said in a statement that it decided to reduce output by 100,000 barrels per day in October, returning to the production level of August.

“An output cut won’t make them any friends at a time when the world is facing a cost-of-living crisis already