OPEC+ Moves July Output Call By One Day To May 31, Say Delegates
The full 22-nation alliance is also due to hold a set of virtual meetings on May 28, with the opportunity to review group-wide output quotas that underlie the latest supply restraints.
OPEC+ brought forward a video-conference that will decide July oil production levels for eight key members by one day to May 31, delegates said.
The eight-nation sub-group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia held preliminary talks last week on making another bumper output increase of about 411,000 barrels a day for a third consecutive month, to be finalized during its conference call. One delegate, who asked not to be identified, said the date change was simply a reflection of scheduling issues.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners sent crude prices plunging to a four-year low below $60 a barrel in early April by announcing it would revive supplies at triple the planned speed this month, and doubled down on the move with another surge set for June. Crude futures have since recovered to near $65.
The supply hikes by OPEC+, coming at a time of faltering demand and concern over President Donald Trump’s trade wars, took most crude traders by surprise, marking a distinct rupture with years of action by the alliance to shore up world oil markets.
Late schedule changes have become increasingly common in recent years for OPEC+, and easier to arrange as the coalition holds meetings online rather than at its headquarters in Vienna.
The full 22-nation alliance is also due to hold a set of virtual meetings on May 28, with the opportunity to review group-wide output quotas that underlie the latest supply restraints.
