Oil rises on OPEC+ decision

Oil was higher Friday morning in Asia, cutting back some new losses following the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and partners (OPEC+) neglected the call to increase supply and opted to proceed with a more gradual return of production.

Brent oil futures increased 0.97% to $81.32 by 11:31 PM ET (3:31 AM GMT) after falling almost 2% on Thursday. WTI futures surged 1.09% to $79.67 after sinking 2.5% throughout the preceding session.

OPEC+ acknowledged on Thursday to hold to their plan to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day (BPD) from December at its most advanced meeting on Thursday.

The OPEC+ group of notable producers agreed on Thursday to hold to their plan to raise oil production by 400,000 barrels per day (BPD) from December, ignoring calls from U.S. President Joe Biden for additional products to cool rising prices.

Top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia dismissed calls for more rapid increases from the OPEC and partners, including Russia, collectively identified as OPEC+, quoting economic headwinds.

The group has been reducing supply after the coronavirus epidemic led to the disappearance of demand.

But with U.S. retail gasoline prices not far off $4 a gallon, estimated a pressure point for American drivers, the onus is on the White House following Biden on Saturday forced major G20 energy producers with spare capacity to increase output.

OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya told Reuters that this was an easy and fast OPEC+ meeting on production. At no point did OPEC+ contemplate changing their output strategy, which was utterly the message they had.

Biden asked for an increase

Continuous coronavirus outbreaks contributed to OPEC+’s careful approach. Meanwhile, a global supply crunch also increases the tightness in the oil market. At the same time, some OPEC members’ disappointment to reach their production targets has put further pressure on crude supply.

The cartel disregarded calls from U.S. President Joe Biden for extra production to calm rising prices, asking for an increase of as much as double the agreed amount. The U.S. is also among critical consumers who beforehand thought into their strategic reserves should OPEC+ boost production.

OPEC+ has been decreasing supply because coronavirus influenced fuel demand. The black liquid lately scored seven-year highs. However, it dropped earlier in the week as the American Petroleum Institute, and U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a build in U.S. crude oil supplies.