Oil prices rise as OPEC+ agrees to increase production
Oil prices nudged up by 1% this Monday after OPEC+ (that's the big group of oil-producing countries) said they'll slightly increase production in November—about 137,000 extra barrels per day, just like last month.
The move is meant to avoid worsening the recent slump in oil markets caused by oversupply concerns and comes at a time when the global economy and politics are still pretty shaky.
Russia and Saudi Arabia's conflicting interests
OPEC+ made this modest increase because oil prices have been sliding lately, but their bump was less than what many expected.
Brent crude hit $65.16 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate reached $61.46 after the news.
Meanwhile, Russia wants to keep things steady to avoid price drops, while Saudi Arabia is pushing for bigger increases to win back market share—so there's some tension within the group.
Plus, with the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict and new sanctions on Russia from G7 countries, global oil markets are likely to stay unpredictable for now.