OPEC+ group decided to stick to its agreed plan to ramp up oil production only by 432,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in May, ignoring Western pressure to significantly boost production  Al Sharq reported.

In a statement following a ministerial meeting, OPEC+ stated that the “continuing oil market fundamentals and the consensus on the outlook pointed to a well-balanced market”.

It added that the “current volatility is not caused by fundamentals, but by ongoing geopolitical developments.”

This came following repeated calls by the US and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to pump more crude to stabilize prices that have soared to approach an all-time high, amid fears of Russian supply shortages as a result of US-EU sanctions on Moscow.