OPEC+ decided on Monday to reduce production targets by around 100,000 barrels per day beginning in October, shocking the energy markets in the midst of significant turbulence.
Energy experts had anticipated that the group would maintain its current output policy.
It was just last month that OPEC and allies reached an agreement to increase oil production by an additional 100,000 barrels per day. Many people saw the tiny increase as a snub when the United States President Joe Biden returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia, where he pressed the OPEC leader to increase production in order to lower oil costs and stimulate global economic growth.
In a statement released on Monday, OPEC+ explained that the production cutback was because the upward adjustment was “intended only for the month of September.”
The next OPEC+ meeting is scheduled for Oct. 5.
