OPEC and its allies have disregarded calls from US President Joe Biden to do more to tame soaring energy prices that are fueling inflation and hurting vulnerable households.
Energy ministers from major oil and gas producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided during a virtual meeting on Thursday to stick to their plan to gradually increase production. The coalition said in a statement that it will increase output by only 400,000 barrels per day in December.
The price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, has doubled over the past year to $83 per barrel as the global economy rebounds from its pandemic slump. Bank of America predicts that prices will zoom even higher and hit $120 per barrel by June 2022. Soaring oil prices are dampening the economic recovery at a crucial moment, and elevated gasoline prices could have political ramifications for Democrats heading into next year's midterm elections. US gas prices have surged to a seven-year high of $3.40 a gallon nationally and are flirting with $4 in Nevada, Washington and Oregon. Gasoline and diesel prices have hit record highs in part of Europe and the United Kingdom too.
Last month, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm suggested that tapping the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve was under active consideration — before the Energy Department later walked back her comments by clarifying there was no"immediate plan" to do so.
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