Brent Crude Nears $94/bbl After OPEC+ Production Cut

Brent Crude futures touched nearly USD 94 per barrel on Thursday as concerns over tight oil supplies and soaring inflation intensified after the OPEC+ group announced the largest oil production cut since the pandemic of 2 million barrel per day ahead of European Union embargoes on Russian energy.

United States President Joe Biden expressed disappointment over the move as it will hurt the fragile global economy in an inflationary environment and hinder efforts to deprive Russia’s economy for oil revenue. White House called the outcome of the meet as short-sighted and said that President Biden would continue to assess whether to release further strategic oil to lower prices.

“It’s clear that OPEC+ is aligning with Russia with today’s announcement,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters

However, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said that the real supply cut would be between 1 million and 1.1 million barrels per day because many OPEC+ countries are already pumping below their quotas.

The supply concerns are aggravated as European Union sanctions on Russian crude and oil products take effect in December and February, respectively.