Eight OPEC+ producers accelerate crude oil output hikes, pushing oil prices 6% lower

Eight OPEC+ producers accelerate crude oil output hikes, pushing oil prices 6% lower


A view shows the logo of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 13, 2024. 

Maxim Shemetov | Reuters

Eight key OPEC+ producers on Thuesday agreed to raise combined crude oil output by 411,000 barrels per day, speeding up the pace of their scheduled hikes and pushing down oil prices.

The Ice Brent contract with June delivery was trading at $70.50 per barrel at 1:32 p.m. London time (8:32 a.m. ET), down 5.94% from the Wednesday close. The front-month May Nymex WTI contract was at $67.11 per barrel, 6.41% lower.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman met virtually to review global market conditions and decided to raise collective output by 411,000 barrels per day, starting in May. The group was widely expected to implement an increase of just under 140,000 barrels per day next month.

The May hike agreed on Thursday is “equivalent to three monthly increments,” OPEC said in a statement, adding that “the gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions.”

The eight OPEC+ producers this month started gradually unwinding 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts undertaken independently from the production strategy of the broader 22-member OPEC+ alliance, which has roughly 3.66 million barrels per day of separate cuts in place until the end of 2026.

The Thursday meeting was the first one attended by Erlan Akkenzhenov, the new energy minister of Kazakhstan, which has struggled with producing above its assigned quota.

Without referencing individual countries, OPEC said in its Thursday statement that the May output hike will “provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation” by way of additional production cuts in line with overproduction.

The Thursday decision was taken against the backdrop of broader market tumult triggered by sweeping tariffs on key trade partners unveiled on Wednesday by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been simultaneously championing higher U.S. oil output.



Source

CNBC Daily Open: Keeping a cool head paid off for investors
World

CNBC Daily Open: Keeping a cool head paid off for investors

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with US President Donald Trump as they attend the North Atlantic Council plenary meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. Ludovic Marin | Via Reuters What a first half of the year it has been. In the first six months, […]

Read More
China’s June factory activity unexpectedly expands, private survey shows
World

China’s June factory activity unexpectedly expands, private survey shows

HANGZHOU, CHINA – JUNE 30, 2025 – A worker is working in the production workshop of a steel structure factory in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China on June 30, 2025. CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images China’s factory activity unexpectedly returned to growth among export-oriented manufacturers in June, a private survey showed Tuesday, as […]

Read More
Apple weighs using Anthropic or OpenAI to power Siri in major reversal, Bloomberg News reports
World

Apple weighs using Anthropic or OpenAI to power Siri in major reversal, Bloomberg News reports

An Apple logo is displayed on a smartphone with stock market values in the background. SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images Apple is weighing using artificial intelligence technology from Anthropic or OpenAI to power a new version of Siri, instead of its own in-house models, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Shares of the iPhone maker, which had traded down earlier in the session, closed […]

Read More