The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in their latest meeting decided to implement a gradual output hike next month, despite other members failing to deliver planned increases.
- Delegates of the meeting said the group approved the nominal revival of 400,000 barrels a day in March. It made similar commitments made in the past months, but several countries failed to hike output due to several issues.
- The group already hiked production by 50,000 barrels a day in January, with the gains offset by a 140,000 barrel-a-day decline in Libya after its biggest reservoir Sharara was closed due to militias.
- OPEC+ and its allies have been facing hurdles such as dwindling supplies, specifically for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Kuwait. This has spurred concerns over supplies given the issues in Libya.
Strategists believe Saudi Arabia could step up as regulator and boost output should prices continue to climb.
WTI is up 1.22%, and Brent is up 1.03%.
Source: Bloomberg