The 23 oil-exporting countries that make up the alliance OPEC + decided on Thursday to continue the gradual increase in their production in January, despite the fact that the new variant of Covid-19, Ómicron, casts doubt on the demand.
The export cartel announced “to adjust the monthly global production upwards in January by 400,000 barrels a day,” as it has been doing every month since May 2021, this organization announced in a statement published after their meeting by videoconference.
The 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), based in Vienna, along with its 10 allies (which give rise to OPEC +) met for just over an hour this Thursday afternoon local time.
Prudence is the favorite word of those responsible for the alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, which resists pressure from several countries (led by the United States) to further increase their production and curb rising energy prices, since its margin of maneuver is ten times superior.
This announcement comes a week after the United States, along with China, India and Japan, announced that they were using their strategic reserves to reduce the rise in crude prices, which threatens the economic recovery after the pandemic.
But the appearance of the Omicron variant further complicates the equation: the price of crude fell 15% after many countries imposed travel restrictions and other measures were considered that could curb oil demand.
During a technical meeting the day before, the OPEC Secretary General, Mohamed Barkindo He highlighted in a statement “the constant progress in the world economic recovery”, but stressed “the need to remain attentive to the current uncertainty and changing conditions, including the situation with the new variant of covid-19, omicron.”
On Wednesday, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery fell 0.92%, closing at $ 65.57. For its part, the price of a barrel of Brent of the North Sea for delivery in February lost 0.52%, ending at $ 68.87.
Following the announcement, prices per barrel fell by about 2%, reaching their lowest levels since the end of August.
During the pandemic, the OPEC + its production fell sharply so that the crisis would not affect the price of crude oil.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx