Why OPEC may not have the answer to high oil prices

Why OPEC may not have the answer to high oil prices

Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN) – Oil-consuming nations wait with bated breath as the OPEC cartel meets once again this week to decide whether to pump more crude into the market to tame runaway prices.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, oil this year rose to a 14-year high. Prices have since eased slightly and Brent crude futures stood at around $113 a barrel as of Monday, but Western nations have been pressuring oil states to continue adding more oil to the market.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron called on oil producers to ramp up output by “exceptional” volumes, the AFP news agency reported.

But when oil exporters meet on Tuesday to decide on whether to raise output, they’ll have to take into account a looming global recession that threatens to slash demand for their crude and diminish their ability to control its price.

As central banks hike interest rates to control inflation, a global economic downturn in the next 18 months has become more likely, economists have warned.

A recession is an “increasingly palpable risk” for the economy, Citigroup analysts wrote in a note on Wednesday in an assessment of the trajectory for global growth over the next 18 months.

Experts say oil producers can’t preempt