OPEC+ oil alliance faces stagnant prices for crude while US drivers enjoy cheaper gasoline
The OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries is deciding on whether to produce more crude as members face sluggish demand and competing production from non-allied countries, factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year
FRANKFURT, Germany — Members of the OPEC + alliance of oil exporting countries will decide Thursday whether to put off plans to pump more crude amid sluggish demand and competing production from non-allied countries — factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year.
Key beneficiaries of that would be U.S. motorists, who have seen gasoline prices fall to their lowest in 2 1/2 years to near $3 a gallon.
OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia as the dominant member of the OPEC producers' cartel, and Russia as the leading non-OPEC member in the 23-country alliance, is holding an online meeting over whether to put off production increases that are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
Eight OPEC+ members planned to start increasing production from Jan. 1 by gradually restoring 2.2 million barrels per day in previous production cuts. Analysts now say the group could postpone production increases for another three months as it monitors demand.
Oil prices have been slack due to weaker than expected demand from China as well as increased production from countries like Brazil and Argentina that aren't in OPEC+. Oil analysts have been busy reducing their estimates for demand for next year, meaning that OPEC+ could remain in a bind well into 2025.
The Saudis need oil revenue to carry out Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s ambitious plans to diversify his country’s economy, including the development of Neom, a $500 billion futuristic city in the desert. For Russia, oil export revenues are a key
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