OPEC agrees to produce slightly more oil as recession fears loom
CNNLondon CNN Business — The world’s oil-exporting countries have agreed to a tiny increase in output next month amid fears that a global recession will crimp demand. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude — the North American benchmark — both rose initially on Wednesday after OPEC’s announcement, as oil investors expected a bigger increase in production. “As a production rise it is a very small percentage of overall production, and much smaller than previous months increases, and thus makes little difference to the overall supply picture,” Hazel Seftor, senior research analyst for global oil supply at Wood Mackenzie, told CNN Business. Last month, the International Energy Agency warned in a report that “global oil inventories remain critically low,” and posed an especial risk to emerging economies.