US President Trump orders OPEC to lower oil prices

/ Policy & Regulations / Sunday, 23 September 2018 08:09

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his calls for OPEC members to lower their crude prices, citing that the United States was providing the Middle Eastern oil behemoths with security.

Trump is renowned for using his Twitter account to express his views in relation to foreign policy and domestic legislation and he once again used the social media platform to comment on the ongoing issues arising from increasing costs in oil exports.

In a typical Twitter tirade, Trump tweeted, “We protect the countries of the Middle East, but 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!"

The US President had previously called for members of the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) primarily its powerful ally Saudi Arabia to raise their production, and issued a warning to importers to cease buying oil from Iran or face the prospect of sanctions from the United States.

Two of OPEC's founding members, Iran and Venezuela, are currently under sanctions from Washington and a new set of US sanctions is due to hit the Islamic republic's oil industry on November 4.

The oil output from Iran has sunk to its lowest level since July 2016, according to the International Energy Agency, as top buyers including India and China have distanced contact from Tehran.

In 2016, major producers from both within and outside OPEC agreed to slash production in an attempt to boost prices following the 2014 oil market crash.

Latest Issue

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.