Opec producers will increase oil production by about 700,000 barrels a-day from 1 July.

Opec decided on 22 June at its meeting in 174th Vienna to conform by 100 per cent to its November 2016 decision to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels a-day.

The decision means that Opec producers will no longer exceed the 1.2 million b/d production cuts. According to the cartel, production cuts were 158 per cent of 1.2 million b/d, or about 1.9 million b/d, in May this year.

Ahead of the meeting Opec members including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq were reported to have been in favour of gradually increasing output to prevent unsustainable price increases. Other members, including Iran, Venezuela and Nigeria were reported to prefer maintain production cuts to support higher prices.

Opec will meet with non-Opec members at a meeting on 23 June to discuss the production cuts. The role of non-Opec members, and most notably Russia, have played a crucial role in controlling oil prices since late 2016.