OPEC to Resume Regular Monitoring Meetings Next Month

OPEC+ will resume its regular oil market monitoring meetings with an online session early next month, delegates said.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which includes group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia, will convene in the first week of February, said the delegates, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. One person said that the meeting has been scheduled for Feb. 1. 

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies began a new round of production cutbacks this month, in a bid to avert a global supply surplus during the first quarter and defend crude prices. Brent futures were little changed near $77 a barrel on Tuesday.

Oil slumped almost 20 percent in the fourth quarter as record supplies from the US and elsewhere countered the effect of supply constraints by OPEC+ and robust fuel demand. Oil consumption growth is forecast to slow down sharply this year, prompting predictions of an oversupply. 

OPEC+ agreed at its last meeting in November to deepen existing supply cuts this quarter by around 900,000 barrels a day. Yet the price impact has been muted as crude traders are skeptical of how much will actually be implemented, with several key members struggling to dial back output further. 

Prices are getting some support from the turmoil in the Middle East, which has flared in recent weeks with attacks on merchant shipping through the region. The conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, while Iran has dispatched a warship to the Red Sea after the US Navy destroyed three boats operated by Houthi militants.

The OPEC+ JMMC typically meets every two months to review oil market conditions on behalf of ministers. The full 22-nation coalition is next due to gather on June 1 in Vienna. 

Member nation Angola quit the group last month after 16 years amid a bitter dispute over its production quota, but its departure isn’t expect to have any impact on supplies from the country or the wider alliance.