OPEC defies Joe Biden with a big output cut

of the Petroleum Exporting Countries () is sometimes called the oil market’s central bank. Every month the cartel and its allies, a group of 23 countries that produce 40% of the world’s oil, meet to decide on production targets. The aim is to keep prices . But just as governors argue about the speed of , members of +, as the wider group is known, disagree on how fast to turn the spigots.The summit on October 5th was a short one, but it nevertheless produced a controversial decision. Ending a series of online meetings and timid tweaks to output, +—which includes Russia—met in person for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic. Emerging from a Viennese boardroom, ministers confirmed that they would cut production by 2m barrels a day (b/d), an amount equivalent to 2% of the world’s total output. After months of and missed targets, the cartel is determined to restore its credibility and regain control of the oil price.