Crude Oil Pullback Amid Rising Doubt Over OPEC+ Meeting

• Crude Oil Pullback Amid Rising Doubt Over OPEC+ Meeting

Crude oil pulled back on Wednesday during the Asian trading session following a report published by Bloomberg that the anticipated OPEC plus meeting may no longer hold this week.

According to the report, the group top oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, complained over quota cheating by other members of the group.

It should be recalled that the group compliance level was just 74 percent in May, with Nigeria’s only abiding by 19 percent of its quota while Iraq did just 38 percent.

Therefore, the two leaders warned that the talks scheduled for early June to discuss production extension may not hold if nations like Nigeria and Iraq do not commit to the agreement reached in April.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is measured, declined from $40.50 per barrel it traded earlier on Wednesday to $39.18 as at 11:48 am Nigerian time.

“Four days after a proposal to bring forward the meeting to this Thursday was first floated, there was still no agreement on the date. And while a plan to extend output cuts by one month was gaining support, delegates said Saudi Arabia and Russia were seeking assurances that all members would comply with the cuts they have promised,” Bloomberg stated.