Opec rebuffs Biden pressure on output

Officials from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other oil-producing nations shook off pressure from the Biden administration and decided on Thursday to stick with their previous plan to raise oil production by a modest 400,000 barrels a day next month.

President Biden and other world leaders had pressured countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to increase production because oil prices, which collapsed during last year’s pandemic lockdowns, have now reached their highest levels in seven years. Gasoline prices, too, have jumped in the United States, Britain and elsewhere.