Major oil producers agreed to ramp up output by more than expected despite falling crude prices.
The OPEC bloc and its partners have kept increasing production — this time by 550,000 barrels per day — even with prices mired near multi-year lows, officially voicing confidence about global economic prospects and forecasting a strong summer vacation season, a time when car use tends to increase.
Yet experts say the persistent steps to raise output are part of long-term efforts to crowd out US shale companies as well as to maintain adherence to national quotas within the grouping, all while addressing US President Donald Trump’s calls for lower oil prices.
AD