OPEC+ members to delay oil production increase until April

Eight members of the OPEC+ oil producers’ alliance will postpone plans to unwind a voluntary 2.2-million-barrels-per-day output cut until April 2025, amid a lukewarm outlook for global demand, two delegate sources told CNBC on Thursday.

The sources could only speak anonymously because of the sensitivity of talks.

This production cut was previously due to start being phased out in December.

It is one of two voluntary output reductions implemented by a subset of the group, with several OPEC+ members also curtailing production by 1.7 million barrels per day. Under its formal output strategy, the broader OPEC+ coalition is restricting its combined production to 39.725 million barrels per day (bpd) into next year.

Despite these sets of production trims and ongoing conflict threatening the hydrocarbon-rich Middle Eastern region, global oil prices have remained subdued for the better part of this year, under pressure from a tepid demand outlook.

Adding to geopolitical uncertainty is the imminent White House return of President-elect Donald Trump — who has led his electoral campaign on pledges to further unleash the output of the world’s largest oil producer.

This breaking news story is being updated.