OPEC and its allies agreed to stick to their existing plan for gradual monthly oil-production increases after a brief video conference, APA reports citing Bloomberg.
Ministers ratified the 400,000 barrel-a-day supply hike scheduled for October, delegates said. The group took less than an hour to reach an agreement, one of the quickest meetings in recent memory and a stark contrast to the drawn-out negotiations seen at the cartel’s previous talks in July.
With crude prices mostly recovered from their mid-August slump and the supply outlook relatively tight for the rest of the year, the group has little reason to change the established schedule of gradual monthly supply hikes.
West Texas Intermediate crude was 0.9% lower at $67.91 a barrel at 11:15 a.m. in New York.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia are in the process of rolling back the unprecedented output cuts implemented at the depths of the Covid-19 crisis last year. About 45% of the idle supply has already been revived, and in July the group laid out a plan for gradually returning the remainder through to September 2022.