Blinken: OPEC+ Could ‘Make a Decision’ to Cut Later if They Don’t Like Conditions, But ‘No Reason’ to Do It When They Did It

During an interview with ABC News on Wednesday released on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reacted to the recent OPEC+ oil production cut by saying that because we’re in a period where we’re attempting to bring back economic growth, it’s “exactly the wrong time” for a production cut, and that if OPEC+ members are worried about oil prices going down, then “if things are going in a direction that they really don’t like, they can make a decision then. But there was no reason to make the decision when they made it, in the recovery from COVID.”

Blinken said, “The step that Saudi Arabia and the OPEC+ organization took was one that was deeply unfortunate and also deeply misguided. To the extent that this causes oil prices to go up and Russia’s exporting oil, it’s helping to line Putin’s pockets. Second, we’re all trying to restore economic growth. That’s exactly the wrong time to engage in production cuts. And to the extent that they’re concerned about oil prices going down, if things are going in a direction that they really don’t like, they can make a decision then. But there was no reason to make the decision when they made it, in the recovery from COVID.”

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