OPEC+ agrees oil output cut to prop up prices

VIENNA, AFP: The OPEC+ oil cartel agreed Monday to cut production for the first time in more than a year as it seeks to lift prices that have tumbled due to recession fears.

The move could irk the United States as it has pressed the group to increase output in order to bring down energy prices that have fuelled decades-high inflation.

OPEC+, a 23-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, had agreed to huge cuts in output in 2020 when the COVID pandemic sent oil prices crashing, but it began to increase production modestly again last year as the market improved.

Oil prices soared to almost $ 140 a barrel in March after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But they have since receded below $ 100 per barrel amid recession fears, COVID lockdowns in major consumer China and Iran nuclear talks that could bring Iranian crude back into the market.