OPEC+ to Further Accelerate Supply Boost With Larger August Hike

Turning Up the Tap

- BLOOMBERG

OPEC+ will increase production even more rapidly than expected next month, as the group led by Saudi Arabia seeks to capitalize on strong summer demand in its move to reclaim market share.

Eight key alliance members agreed to raise supply by 548,000 barrels a day at a virtual meeting on Saturday, according to delegates. The group previously announced increases of 411,000 barrels for each of May, June, and July—already three times the level originally planned—and traders had expected the same level for August.

The latest increase builds on a dramatic strategy pivot by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners to accelerate the revival of curtailed production. Since April, the group has shifted from years of output restraint to reopening the taps, surprising crude traders and raising questions about its long-term strategy. OPEC+ is returning curtailed capacity into a market that is widely expected to be oversupplied later in the year.