Oil prices reach seven-year high after Opec+ abandon supply talks
Oil prices climbed to their highest level in nearly seven years today after Opec+ failed to end an impasse over proposed output increases.
The price of a barrel of WTI neared $77 in morning trading, its highest since 2014, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, shot up for the sixth day in a row to hit a two-and-a-half year peak of $77.4.
Read more: US calls for end to deadlock in Opec+ talks
The deadlock over oil production volumes extended into a third day on Monday after the alliance failed to reach an agreement during talks on Thursday and Friday last week.
Analysts expected Opec+ to increase lift production by 400m barrels per day for the rest of the year.
However, although the United Arab Emirates on Friday accepted a proposal from Saudi Arabia and other Opec+ members to raise output in stages by about 2 million bpd from August to December, it rejected extending remaining cuts to the end of 2022 from a current end date of April without adjusting its current baseline production.
The surging price of oil and other commodities is fuelling concerns that inflation may creep into consumer prices across developed economies, which would slow the recovery from the pandemic.
Latest data shows UK inflation is already running higher than the Bank of England’s target, reaching 2.1 per cent annually in May.
Read more: Opec+ supply talks end in deadlock