OPEC+ expected to slash oil output over 1 million barrels per day

VIENNA: Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia were set to meet Wednesday as reports said they were mulling an output cut of up to two million barrels per day in a bid to prop up slumping prices.
If implemented, it would be the first such major cut since a landmark curb on production at the start of the Covid pandemic.
Energy prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, pushing inflation to decades-high levels that have put pressure on economies across the world.
But they have fallen in recent months on concerns over dwindling demand and a slowdown in the global economy.
The 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, and their 10 allies headed by Russia will hold their first in-person meeting since March 2020 at the group’s headquarters in Vienna.
Collectively known as OPEC+, the alliance drastically slashed output by almost 10 million barrels per day (bpd) in April 2020 to reverse a massive drop in crude prices caused by Covid lockdowns.
OPEC+ began to raise production last year after the market improved. Output returned to pre-pandemic levels this year, but only on paper as some members have struggled to meet their quotas. The group agreed last month on a small, symbolic cut of 100,000 bpd from October, the first in more than a year.-PNP