The decision is expected to be made at a meeting of the organization that will take place this Wednesday.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus (OPEC+) will hold a meeting this Wednesday in which, according to numerous reports, it will agree to a significant cut in crude oil production in order to increase its price.

According to experts and reports, the measure faces rejection from the US, which is already suffering from high gasoline prices and fears that a new increase will weaken the positions of the US authorities on the eve of the midterm elections. mandate to be held on November 8.

What is it about?

The New York Times reported earlier this week, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the group, is determined to push oil prices to around $90 a barrel.

Media sources estimate that the agency is considering announcing a cut of between 500,000 and one million barrels per day, approximately 1% of world supply, because the market has excess supply and demand is fading due to the weakening of the world economy. If this step is taken, oil prices could rise.

Jeff Currie, global head of commodity research at Goldman Sachs, also spoke about OPEC+’s plans to cut production. The reason OPEC+ is able to cut output, even as the oil market remains tight with low inventories, is that crude prices are down more than 40% as investors flee the market, Currie said.

US efforts to block the measure

However, several experts maintain that the step would be a blow to the administration of US President Joe Biden, since it would cause a significant increase in the price of gasoline in the US.

In this context, CNN reported on Tuesday that several senior US officials from the fields of energy, the economy and foreign affairs had held negotiations in recent days with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, among other countries. , to convince them to oppose the initiative.

In addition, CNN cited a document with supposed key points for the negotiations between Washington and its partners. According to the media, the US authorities maintained that the prospect of reducing production would threaten a “total disaster” and would be considered “a hostile act.”

With reference to a source, that Washington is trying to convince OPEC+ to abstain on the issue of cutting oil production. “Higher oil prices, if driven by significant production cuts, would likely irritate the Biden Administration ahead of the US mid-term elections,” Citi analysts noted.

For her part, the spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, told CNN that Washington has been clear on the issue that “energy supply must meet demand to support economic growth and prices prices for consumers around the world, and we will continue to talk to our partners about this.”

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