Oil Prices jump by 3% Despite OPEC+ Decision to Gradually Increase Production

Oil prices jumped more than 3% Thursday after OPEC+ reached an agreement to gradually ease production restrictions from May.

Brent crude rose $ 1.94, or 3.1 percent, to $ 64.68 a barrel. U.S. crude rose $ 2.10, or 3.6 percent, to $ 61.26 a barrel.

OPEC +, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, agreed to ease production curbs by 350,000 bpd in May, then another 350,000 bpd in June and 400,000 bpd in July.

Under today’s deal, OPEC + cuts will be only slightly higher than 6.5 million bpd from May, compared with just under 7 million bpd in April.

The new US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, appointed by President Joe Biden, had spoken with Saudi Arabia, the largest OPEC producer, about production policy, and said that energy prices should be kept within reach, indicating that the group should consider raising production.

However, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the market’s recovery “is far from complete.”