Oil prices jump as OPEC retains monthly output

Crude oil prices reversed their losses on Thursday after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to maintain its planned monthly oil output.

OPEC on Wednesday disclosed this at the 47th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), according to a statement released by the organisation.

Checks by PREMIUM TIMES Thursday morning showed that Brent Crude appreciated 0.17 per cent to $82.98 while WTI was up +0.26 per cent at $76.61.

OPEC and its allies had in October last year agreed to cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day in November, the deepest cut by OPEC+ since the 2020 COVID pandemic.

The decision came despite pressure from the United States and others advocating that the group should increase its output.

OPEC argued that it took the decision “in light of the uncertainty that surrounds the global economy and oil market outlooks, and the need to enhance the long-term for the oil market.”

The United States government strongly criticised the decision, saying the cut would negatively impact lower and middle-income countries the most.

On Wednesday, OPEC said the members of the JMMC reaffirmed their commitment to the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) which extends to the end of 2023 as agreed in the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on 5th of October 2022.

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The oil cartel however urged all participating countries to achieve full conformity and adhere to the compensation mechanism.

“The committee reviewed the crude oil production data for the months of November and December 2022 and noted the overall conformity for participating OPEC and non-OPEC countries of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC),” the oil cartel said.