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Oil prices slump after OPEC+ hike
The Mercury
|May 06, 2025
SAUDI Arabia, Russia and six other members of the oil cartel announced over the weekend an output increase of 411 000 barrels a day for June, a month after a similar move had already caused prices to fall.
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The price of crude has also been sliding because of fears of a global economic slowdown on the back of Trump's tariff onslaught.
The Opec+ move "confirms a stark turnaround away from the production cuts that have persisted since 2022" said a Deutsche Bank research note.
Oil prices fell almost four percent before paring back some losses.
Brent, the international benchmark, was trading at just under $60 per barrel at around 7.15am GMT.
Some analysts pointed to pressure from Trump to lower prices and expectations of declining Iranian oil exports amid tighter sanctions, as possible reasons for the unexpected move.
Others said the motivation was unclear.
This story is from the May 06, 2025 edition of The Mercury.
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