pera play OPEC Plus Postpones Plan to Increase Oil Output for Three Months

Once againpera play, major oil producers have postponed a plan to increase production, a decision that comes amid a weak market that is facing slow global demand and increased output from other countries.

The oil cartel, known as OPEC Plus, had planned to start opening the taps in January, which would have amounted to additional production of more than two million barrels a day. But in a news release issued on Thursday by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, eight countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, said they would delay starting planned gradual increases until at least April.

The delay is the third time that these countries have put the brakes on planned increases, which were first announced in June. The prospect of more oil output has weighed on markets.

“It’s a recognition that the market is not ready yet for them to increase production,” said Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at Energy Aspects, a research firm in London.

In addition, Mr. Bronze said the group might not have wanted to move when the effect of a Trump presidency on the oil market was still far from clear. President-elect Donald J. Trump may, for instance, take a tougher line with Iran, reducing the Islamic republic’s oil sales, which would create space for more output from other countries.

January also tends to be a time of weak demand because of refinery maintenance that reduces the need for crude oil.

Oil prices were steady on Thursday with Brent crude, the international benchmark, trading at $72.44 a barrel.

Homayoun Falakshahi, an analyst at Kpler, a research firm, said on a webinar on Thursday that OPEC Plus was unlikely to begin the output increases until late next year.

It is not going to be easy to find a right time to start increasing output. The combination of tepid global demand growth and anticipated increases in production from countries like the United States, Guyana and Brazil is squeezing out OPEC and its allies. The transition to electric vehicles, even if slower than some anticipated, will also gradually cut into demand.

In response, the oil cartel has entered into a series of agreements on production cuts that analysts say are confusing and difficult even for oil market experts to follow.

Along with the cuts extended to Aprilpera play, OPEC Plus also said it would extend a separate package of reductions of 1.7 million barrel a day, originally agreed to in 2023, to December 2026.

• pera play
• Plus
• OPEC
• Postpones
• plan