OPEC+ Agrees on Another Gradual Oil-Production Hike for March - Bloomberg

OPEC+ Agrees on Another Gradual Oil-Production Hike for March - Bloomberg

OPEC and its allies agreed to make another modest output increase in March, sticking to their plan even as the failure of several members to deliver the scheduled monthly supply hikes stokes a rally in crude prices.

After a brief meeting on Wednesday, the 23-nation coalition rubber-stamped the nominal revival of 400,000 barrels a day for March, delegates said, asking not to be named because the information isn’t yet public. The alliance has has made identical pledges in previous months, but a Bloomberg survey showed that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries barely managed to increase supplies in January due to issues ranging from under-investment to militia unrest.

Oil prices soared to a seven-year high above $90 a barrel last month, stirring expectations of a return to triple-digits, as supplies from OPEC+ and elsewhere failed to keep up with the vigorous recovery in demand from the pandemic. The rally is whipping up a wave of inflation that’s frustrating central banks and inflicting a cost-of-living crisis on millions.

Widespread difficulties in restoring supplies increasingly place the burden on the group’s Gulf nations: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait. That’s leaving traders anxious over the spare capacity available to cover any disruptions, whether deeper losses in Libya or another attack like last month’s drone strike in Abu Dhabi.