Oil prices rise even as report says President Biden will visit Saudi Arabia and meet with other top crude producers

Phil Rosen
Updated ·2 min read
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President Joe Biden (L) and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R)/
US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images; Hasan Bratic/picture alliance via Getty Images

  • President Joe Biden is set to visit Saudi Arabia next month, according to NBC News.

  • He will meet with the country's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

  • Oil prices edged up Tuesday, with Brent crude hovering around $123.

As global oil markets reel and crude prices climb, the White House will announce Tuesday that President Joe Biden is set to visit Saudi Arabia in July, NBC News reported.

Oil prices rose Tuesday, with Brent crude up about 0.53% to $122.82 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate up 0.62% to $121.50.

Sources told NBC News that the trip will run from July 13 to 16. Biden will first meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the nation's de facto leader. Later, Biden will meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes leaders from other top oil-producing nations in the region, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Previously, Biden denied that a visit to Saudi Arabia would be aimed at convincing the Saudis to boost oil production to stem rising gas prices amid wartime sanctions against Russia. Still, per NBC, US officials have nodded to the importance of raising the issue.

Earlier this month, OPEC+ agreed to ramp up oil production for the summer, but crude prices have remained elevated. Analysts told Insider that member nations were struggling to meet output quotas even before the production boost was announced, so it's unlikely that the cartel can actually lower global crude prices.

"The market is questioning whether OPEC countries can actually meet the call for higher production," Rob Thummel, managing director and portfolio manager of Tortoise Capital, previously told Insider.

At the same time, the IEA has forecasted that the world will be missing 3 million barrels a day from Russia soon.

Any further oil production boosts would still have a limited effect on fuel prices as bottlenecks at refineries limit how much they can process.

Meanwhile in the US, demand remains strong as summer driving season gets underway. According to AAA data, the US national average for a gallon of gas hit $5.016 Tuesday, about 63% higher than one year ago.

Read the original article on Business Insider