Opec+ sticks to agreed schedule for oil-production increases

[LONDON] Opec and its allies agreed to stick to their existing plan for gradual monthly oil-production increases after a brief video conference.

Ministers ratified the 400,000 barrel-a-day supply hike scheduled for October, delegates said.

The group took less than an hour to reach an agreement, one of the quickest meetings in recent memory and a stark contrast to the drawn-out negotiations seen at the cartel's previous talks in July.

"Opec have proven once again that they can meet and do things seamlessly," Christyan Malek, head of oil and gas and JPMorgan said on Bloomberg TV. "It's likely that harmony is going to be utilized" to respond flexibly to any further shifts in the market over the coming year, he said.

With crude prices mostly recovered from their mid-August slump and the supply outlook relatively tight for the rest of the year, the group has little reason to change the established schedule of gradual monthly supply hikes.

West Texas Intermediate crude was 1 per cent lower at US$67.85 a barrel at 11.34 am in New York.

BLOOMBERG