Surprise determination: OPEC will go forward with April oil output enhance – delegate says

OPEC+ was expected to delay a planned April oil output increase but is instead going ahead with it, according to a delegate cited by Bloomberg (this is now confirmed by various other reports)

Oil is quickly lower.

OPEC+ is scheduled to boost output by 138,000 bpd in April, which is a small about in the 104m bpd market but the shift signals that OPEC will continue to bring on oil supplies and could be being pushed to pump more by the US administration. The delegate also says the planned hikes beyond April will go ahead.

In total, OPEC is scheduled to slowly bring on 2.2m bpd by December 2026. With this announcement, you have to start pricing in a good chance that’s all coming. Some mitigation may come from compensation cuts for those who over-produced quotas; those will last until June 2026.

The hikes were last delayed for three months at the December meeting but the UAE and others were running out of patience, according to reports.

WTI crude initially fell about 70-cents on the report and has continued lower to fall $1.50 on the day to $68.28. Zooming out on the chart, there is a great deal of support into the mid-60s.