FUEL WILL COST MORE THIS WINTER

In early October, OPEC and its partners announced a plan to reduce oil exports. Faced with a potential global recession, the cartel and its allies said that later this year they will collectively sell 2 million fewer barrels per day to avoid supply getting out of whack with lower demand.

- JIM PATTERSON

That announcement helped push crude oil prices higher, with benchmark West Texas Intermediate recently trading around $90 per barrel. Not long ago, it had fallen below $80 due to mounting concerns about the global economy (prices are as of October 13).

Kiplinger doesn't expect OPEC's move to cause a new oil-price spike, but it will probably help keep crude trading considerably higher than it otherwise would have. OPEC’s output cut is not as large as it seems, because the cartel was not producing all of its current quota to begin with. Still, it will take some barrels off the market at a time when Russian oil exports are already down due to sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.