Eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries say they will boost production by 548,000 barrels per day in August in a move that could further reduce gas prices this year.
The group that includes Saudi Arabia and Russia made the decision at a virtual meeting Saturday. They cited a “steady global economic outlook” and low oil inventories.
Oil prices spiked sharply last month during the bloody, 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran but then tumbled back down as the U.S. helped broker a peace deal after dropping bombs on three of Iran’s key nuclear sites.
Saudi Arabia holds significant influence in OPEC+ as the dominant member of the OPEC producers’ cartel, and Russia is the leading non-OPEC member in the 22-country alliance.
Along with Saudi Arabia and Russia, the group that met Saturday is made up of Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
China bans EU medical devices
China said Sunday that European medical device companies will be barred from selling to the Chinese government as a countermeasure for the European Union’s restrictions on the sale of similar products from China.
European companies will be excluded if the budget for procurement is above 45 million yuan ($6.28 million), according to a notice from the Finance Ministry on Sunday with the restrictions in place the same day. The move will not apply to European companies that have invested in China and that manufacture goods in the country.
China on Friday imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France. While the duties on brandy include several exceptions for major brandy producers, China and the EU have multiple trade disputes across a range of industries.
