Opec+ keeps oil output targets unchanged for November

Opec+ maintained its oil production targets for November, keeping the break from recent production increases that began in October. Consisting of seven core members – Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Russia, and Kazakhstan – the group decided during a Sunday meeting to maintain the September 2026 production level for the coming month.

They finished dismantling 1.65 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts initiated in 2023 in September, while retaining a two million barrel daily reduction agreed upon in 2022 until year-end. Opec+ is also evaluating member nations' production capacities to establish quotas for 2027. The group will continue monthly meetings to monitor market conditions, with the next gathering scheduled for November 1.

Most members are currently producing below their targets due to the ongoing conflict. The strategic waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas flow, has been effectively blocked since the February 28 escalation of hostilities between the United States and Iran.

Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, settled nearly unchanged at $102.25 a barrel on Friday. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge tracking U.S. crude, dropped 1.9 percent to $91.11 a barrel. From Friday's close, Brent declined nearly 2 percent, while WTI fell 1.4 percent. Prices peaked intraday at $126 a barrel in late April.