Oil jumped to its highest level in six years after talks between OPEC and its oil-producing allies were postponed indefinitely, with the group failing to reach an agreement on production policy for August and beyond.

On Tuesday, U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 1.6%, or $1.22, to $76.38 per barrel. At one point, WTI crude hit as high as $76.98, which was the highest price since November 2014.

International benchmark Brent crude rose 0.2%, or 16 cents, to $77.32 per barrel — the highest since late 2018.

Discussions began last week between OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, as the energy alliance sought to establish output policy for the remainder of the year. The group on Friday voted on a proposal that would have returned 400,000 barrels per day to the market each month from August through December, resulting in an additional 2 million barrels per day by the end of the year. Members also proposed extending the output cuts through the end of 2022.

The United Arab Emirates rejected these proposals, however, and talks stretched from Thursday to Friday as the group tried to reach a consensus. Initially, discussions were set to resume on Monday but were ultimately called off.

“The date of the next meeting will be decided in due course,” OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said in a statement.

OPEC+ took historic measures in April 2020 and removed nearly 10 million barrels per day of production in an effort to support prices as demand for petroleum-products plummeted. Since then, the group has been slowly returning barrels to the market, while meeting on a near monthly basis to discuss output policy.

Published : 6-Jul-2021