Opec+ took observers by surprise this week by announcing that it is accelerating the pace of production increases less than 24 hours after the US unveiled its new tariff policy. Oil markets were already softening following US President Donald Trump’s 2 April ‘Liberation Day’ press conference, before the Opec+ announcement put them into a tailspin, with Brent dropping from $74.95/B to close 3 April at $70.14/B, and barely $65/B as MEES went to press.
The group had earlier implemented its first easing of production cuts since September 2022 on 1 April, when the ‘Group of Eight’ eased voluntary cuts by 138,000 b/d. When the eight producers – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman – met virtually on 3 April to discuss whether to continue with the monthly production increases in May, few outside the group expected anything other than a simple rubberstamping. (CONTINUED - 1056 WORDS)
