OPEC dismisses Trump demand for higher oil production

Saudi Arabia, the leader of OPEC, said Sunday that it will not increase crude oil output anytime soon, pushing back against President Trump’s calls for greater supply.

“The markets are adequately supplied,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said, according to Reuters. “I don’t know of any refiner in the world who is looking for oil and is not able to get it.”

He added that Saudi Arabia could theoretically raise its output by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day.

{mosads}Russia, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil-producing ally outside OPEC, agreed that it would not immediately increase its output either, the news outlet reported.

Falih added, “I do not influence prices.”

President Trump said last Thursday that OPEC should bring down oil prices, suggesting that the U.S.’s military assistance may be contingent on their cooperation. 

We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 20, 2018

The president has gone after the organization for high gas prices all summer, hitting them in July for doing “little to help” rising gas prices and saying “OPEC is at it again” in June. 

OPEC, which holds 40 percent of the crude oil market, historically has worked to shift oil prices by choking or gorging fuel supplies, according to Forbes.