OPEC snubs Biden with tiny oil output hike

STORY: OPEC may have just snubbed Joe Biden.

The group of oil producing nations on Wednesday (August 3) agreed a tiny increase in production.

It’s set to raise output by 100,000 barrels per day.

Washington had hoped for much more.

The U.S. president had visited Saudi Arabia last month to persuade OPEC’s leading nation to pump more oil.

But the new increase equates to 86 seconds of global oil demand.

One analyst called it “meaningless”, and “almost insulting”.

The U.S. and others had wanted an output increase to help rein in soaring oil prices.

They’ve jumped amid rebounding demand and Western sanctions on Russia.

That's one factor behind surging energy prices surge worldwide, with U.S. inflation now at 40-year highs.

By June, OPEC was still around 3 million barrels per day below its pledged production quotas.

Besides sanctions, low investment has seen some member states unable to pump any more.

Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE are believed to have any ability to ramp up.

Wednesday’s modest move by OPEC initially saw international benchmark Brent crude jump by around $3 dollars per barrel.