OPEC+ announces quicker-paced oil output increase

VIENNA -- OPEC and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, announced the decision on Saturday to increase oil output by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, a faster move compared with July.

In July, the OPEC+ countries saw an oil output increase of 411,000 bpd amid a plan to gradually unwind their most recent layer of output cuts.

Saturday's decision was made during a virtual meeting where member countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, reviewed global market conditions and outlook, according to a statement on the OPEC website.

The adjustment was made in view of "a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories," according to the statement, which also noted that the gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions.

Initially announced in November 2023, the 2.2 million bpd production cuts were introduced for the first quarter of 2024. The cuts have been extended multiple times since then, with the latest extension pushing them through the first quarter of 2025.