Counting the Cost

Why did OPEC+ slash oil output?

OPEC+ group has agreed to its deepest cuts to oil production since the coronavirus pandemic, and the US is not happy.

For months, US President Joe Biden has lobbied Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries to help ease energy prices by pumping more oil.

But in a major policy reversal, the OPEC+ group – that includes Russia – decided to cut output by two million barrels a day in November.

The United States says the decision is shortsighted. It has accused the kingdom of siding with Moscow, which relies heavily on its oil revenues. OPEC+ says the move is purely economic – a response to uncertainty about future oil demand.

Elsewhere, the IMF is known as the world’s “financial firefighter”, but few people like its harsh lending conditions.