OPEC cartel, allies face decision on increasing oil output

Members of oil producer cartel OPEC and allied countries are weighing an increase in production now that prices have recovered to near their pre-pandemic levels.

Their online meeting on Thursday takes place against the background of more confidence that prices have steadied, offset by concern that that the spread of new variants of the coronavirus could easily hurt demand.

The so-called OPEC Plus – which includes countries like Russia that are not part of the cartel but have been coordinating production in recent years – made deep cuts in output in 2020 to stave off a complete collapse in prices.