OPEC, allies stick to modest output boost despite omicron

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ and ELLEN KNICKMEYER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — OPEC and allied oil-producing countries have decided to stick to their plans to boost the amount of oil they pump to the world. The decision comes even as the new omicron variant casts a shadow of uncertainty over the global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Officials from OPEC countries and their allies voted Thursday to deliver steady, modest monthly increases in oil releases. That’s a pace that has frustrated the United States and other oil-consuming nations as gasoline prices rise. The OPEC+ alliance approved an increase in production of 400,000 barrels per day for the month of January.