OPEC+ Confirms Plan to Gently Hike Supply

OPEC and its allies recommended proceeding with plans to gently revive oil production as global demand recovers from the pandemic, despite surging infections in India.
A committee led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed the coalition can skip a full-scale ministerial meeting originally scheduled for Wednesday, and press on with its roadmap for increasing supply, delegates said, Bloomberg reported. 
The 23-nation alliance intends to restart about 2 million barrels of daily output over the next three months.
World oil consumption will rebound by a vigorous 6 million barrels a day this year, though the recovery remains at risk from virus outbreaks in India and Brazil, a panel of OPEC+ technical experts forecast on Monday. As a result, the glut of oil inventories that amassed when demand collapsed last year will be almost gone by the end of this quarter.
“We can take comfort in knowing that our leadership has helped turn the tide,” Mohammad Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said on Twitter. “But at the same time, the persistence of Covid-19 reminds us that this is no time to stray from the cautious and steadfast approach we have taken over the past year.”
The OPEC+ alliance slashed output to help revive the global oil industry from an unprecedented price rout last year when the pandemic crushed fuel demand. The producers are now carefully restarting those supplies as economic activity resumes, beginning with an increase of about 600,000 barrels a day in May. The group is currently idling about 8 million barrels a day, or roughly 8% of world supplies.