OPEC + adheres to plan to gradually increase oil production, price continues to rise
Brent crude surged above $ 81 a barrel when the venture became known.
Justin Wong (JW)October 5, 2026
OPEC + said Monday that it would stick to an existing agreement to gradually increase oil production, propelling crude oil prices to three-year highs and adding inflationary pressures that consumer countries fear will ruin economic recovery from the pandemic could.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and its allies known as OPEC + have faced calls from large consumers such as the United States and India for additional supplies after oil prices rose more than 50% this year.
OPEC + confirmed the plan to adjust production, "the group said in a statement issued after the online ministerial talks, referring to a previous agreement that an additional 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) would be produced in November,
Brent crude surged above $ 81 a barrel on news that the group would stick to its plan to gradually increase production instead of making a bigger offer to the market.
"We will monitor the situation because, as we know, demand tends to decline in the fourth quarter," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak after the talks, adding that he believes the market is now balanced.
An OPEC + source had told Reuters shortly before the ministerial talks on Monday that the group was under pressure to ramp up production, but added: "We are afraid of the fourth wave of the corona; nobody wants to take big steps."
The group agreed in July to increase production by 400,000 bpd per month through at least April 2022, to phase out existing 5.8 million bpd production cuts, compared to the massive cuts experienced during the worst-case period of the Pandemic were in force, have already been greatly reduced.
Demand has rebounded quickly while supply has been disrupted by factors such as cyclones that have affected US production and low investment across the industry during the bottom of the pandemic when demand collapsed.
A senior adviser to US President Joe Biden met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss a number of issues, saying the oil was "cause for concern". India, another major oil consumer, is pushing for more supply.
"The result of the OPEC + meeting was not a surprise, but with prices in excess of $ 80 a barrel of Brent, this is a level that makes customers restless and producers happy but cautious," wrote consultancy Rystad Energy.
Analysts had expected that uncertainty about the impact of variants of the coronavirus on demand, which could lead to new economic disruptions, would affect OPEC + 's decision-making.
