OPEC+ nears December oil output freeze

OPEC+ has reached a preliminary agreement to keep December oil production targets unchanged, according to three people familiar with the discussions cited by Reuters. Seven core members, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman, are expected to ratify the arrangement at an online meeting on Sunday. The move would preserve the group's current supply policy through the end of the year. The freeze follows September's completion of the rollback of a 1.65 million barrel-a-day cut first agreed in 2023. A September increase of 188,000 bpd finished an additional voluntary curb layer. Core members had lifted quotas by almost 800,000 bpd between April and July 2026. A separate reduction of about 2 million bpd remains in place through the end of 2026. Gulf producers are working to restore shipments disrupted by war involving Iran, and most members are still producing below their assigned quotas. Brent crude climbed above $113 a barrel on Friday and touched $118 during the session. Next, members are expected to finalize a production capacity review in the fourth quarter of 2026 that will establish new baselines and quotas for 2027.