White House stands by calls for OPEC+ to do more on oil prices

The U. S. supports calls for OPEC+ to do more to manage the economic recovery worldwide, a White House official said on Monday, as crude prices hit multi-year peaks.

The official noted that Biden’s administration is closely monitoring the cost of oil and gasoline and using every tool to address anti-competitive practices in U.S. and global energy markets to ensure reliable and stable energy markets.

Worldwide demand has rebounded faster than anticipated, and high natural gas prices are pushing some countries to switch power generation from gas into oil.

Brent is at a unprecedented level since 2018, while U.S. crude prices hit highs not reached since 2014 due to a combination of factors.

OPEC+ has maintained limits on supply since the outset of the pandemic. As of July, it agreed to boost output by 400,000 barrels per day to phase out the continued 5.8 million bpd in cuts.