Signaling US, OPEC+ agrees to keep oil production unchanged

Signaling US, OPEC+ agrees to keep oil production unchanged

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major oil producers in the OPEC+ alliance agreed Wednesday to maintain their current level of oil output, in a move that will preserve the status-quo and please the Joe Biden administration. 

What happened: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) met on Wednesday with another group of oil producers including Russia, Oman, Sudan, Azerbaijan and six others. Together, these OPEC and non-OPEC members are known as OPEC+. 

Bloomberg, Energy Intelligence and other outlets reported that OPEC+ decided at the meeting to maintain their current production level. 

OPEC+ instituted a cut of two million barrels per day back in November, but then left production unchanged at the December meeting. Wednesday’s decision indicates no further changes. 

The price of Brent crude oil fell at around 9:00 am ET close to the time the OPEC+ decision broke from around $85.65 a barrel to roughly $85.15 a barrel and then fell just below $85 before 11:00 am ET, according to market data.

The Brent crude price began the year below $78 a barrel and broke $88 a barrel by late January before declining again. On Tuesday, the price hit a three-week low of around $83.25 a barrel. Brent crude oil is widely considered the