OPEC+ agrees to stick to oil production plan, defying U.S. pressure
An Emirati man stands in front of a pipeline at the oil terminal of Fujairah during the inauguration ceremony of a dock for supertankers on September 21, 2016.
Karim Sahib | AFP | Getty Images
OPEC and its oil-producing allies have agreed to continue with their current output plan, deciding against loosening the taps in the face of multi-year highs in crude prices and U.S. pressure to help cool the market.
The group, known as OPEC+, will rollover its August program to gradually increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day each month.
Oil prices have recently hit their highest levels since 2014, and crude importing countries are feeling the pain.
President Joe Biden squarely blamed the reluctance of OPEC+ to pump more oil for the sharp rise in energy prices in the U.S. and around the world.
“The idea that Russia and Saudi Arabia and other major producers are not going to pump more oil so people can have gasoline to get to and from work, for example, is not right,” Biden said Sunday at the G-20 meeting in Rome, Italy.
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