Oil Prices Soar as OPEC Sustains Slow Monthly Crude Supply Increases

Source: OPEC

OPEC+ agreed to retain its schedule of moderate monthly oil-production increases, leading to higher crude prices. CL1! Up +2.56%, USOIL up +2.69%

• Ministers ratified a supply hike of 400,000 barrels a day scheduled for November on Monday. Heading into the talks, there had been speculation that the group could choose a larger supply increase in November.
• West Texas Intermediate crude rose nearly 2.4% to $77.68 a barrel in New York, the highest increase in over seven years.
• The deal comes as OPEC+ seems to be very much in control of the oil market. Crude is trading at multi-year highs without triggering a surge in rival countries’ supplies.
• Oil trader Vitol Group stated that the oil cartel’s production policy will be the main factor influencing prices in the upcoming months.  
• Saudi Arabia is happy, without output rebounding to close to pre-pandemic levels, the highest petroleum revenues since 2018, and its fellow members largely behind the plan to slowly revive idle production every month.
• U.S. oil production continues to recover from Hurricane Ida, which has cut a total of nearly 35 million barrels after slumming the Gulf of Mexico a month ago.