OPEC+ agrees on bigger oil-production hikes for coming months

OPEC+ will increase the size of its oil-supply hikes by about 50 percent, bowing to months of pressure from major consumers including the US to help ease the pain of high energy prices.
Ministers agreed on Thursday that the group should add 648,000 barrels a day of oil to the market in July and August, up from 432,000 barrels a day in recent months, delegates said, asking not to be named because the discussions were private.

The increase would be divided proportionally between members in the usual way, delegates said. Countries that have been unable to raise production, such as Angola, Nigeria and most recently Russia, would still be allocated a higher quota. That could mean that the actual supply boosts are smaller than the official figure, as has often been the case in recent months.

Oil pared losses in New York, trading 0.9 percent lower at $114.26 a barrel as of 9:23 a.m. local time.

Opening the taps wider is a major turnaround for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. The group, led by Saudi Arabia, has been doggedly sticking to its plan for gradual monthly supply increases even after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a key member of the group, upended global markets and sent energy prices soaring. The cartel has so far avoided discussing the crisis at most meetings, saying it’s a matter of politics rather than markets.