Oil price stays high as OPEC+ agrees pause

Global oil price retained its high yesterday with the Bonny Light selling at $78.62 per barrel. Brent, which sold at $70 per barrel at the close of last week, also traded at $70 per barrel, while WTI was $65.21 per barrel.

This comes on the heels of eight OPEC+ countries agreeing in principle to maintain a planned pause in their oil output hikes for March, according to three OPEC+ sources and a draft statement seen by Reuters ahead of yesterday’s meeting.

The producer group said on Sunday, even after crude prices hit six-month highs on concern the U.S. could launch a military strike on OPEC member Iran.

The meeting of eight OPEC+ members comes as Brent crude closed near $70 a barrel last Friday, close to the six-month high of $71.89 it hit on Thursday, despite speculation that a supply glut in 2026 would push prices down.

The eight producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman – raised production quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April through December 2025, roughly three per cent of global demand.

In November they froze further planned increases for January through March 2026 because of seasonally weaker consumption.

Yesterday’s brief meeting reaffirmed that decision for March, after earlier gatherings did the same for January and February.

Sunday’s statement made no mention of what OPEC+ could decide for specific months beyond March, and the lack of forward guidance is significant, said Jorge Leon, a former OPEC official who now works as head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy.

“With rising uncertainty around Iran and U.S. tensions, the group is keeping all options firmly on the table,” he said.

“OPEC’s own numbers point to a lower call on OPEC+ crude in the second quarter, which could limit the scope for production increases,” Leon added.

OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), plus Russia and other allies. The full OPEC+ pumps about half of the world’s oil.

A separate OPEC+ panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee also met on Sunday. The JMMC does not have decision-making authority on production policy. The JMMC stressed the importance of achieving full compliance with OPEC+ output agreements, a statement on OPEC’s website said.

U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing options on Iran that include targeted strikes against security forces and leaders, aiming to inspire protesters. Washington has imposed extensive sanctions on Tehran to choke off its oil revenue, a crucial source of state funding.

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Both the U.S. and Iran have since signalled willingness to engage in dialogue.

Oil prices have also been supported by supply losses in Kazakhstan, where the oil sector has suffered a series of disruptions in recent months. Kazakhstan last Wednesday, however said it was restarting the huge Tengiz oilfield in stages.

The eight countries plan to hold their next meeting on March 1 and the JMMC on April 5, the statements showed.