Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia hold talks Thursday on whether to adjust output, hard on the heels of an EU ban on Russian oil imports.
Analysts had expected OPEC+ producers to likely stick to their policy of only increasing output modestly, as they have done since May 2021.
However, a Wall Street Journal report on Monday that said OPEC was considering suspending Russia from the output deal has sown doubts.
“Such a move would effectively bring a premature end to the group’s supply agreement and pave the way for an unrestricted increase in output,” Stephen Brennock, an analyst at PVM Energy, said.
