Reports are that the OPEC meeting may not be over

The OPEC+ group, which is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and other allied producers got together today in Vienna to renegotiate the pact to cut production of oil which expired June 30.

OPEC members were expected to announce their decision at a press conference at 5 p.m. Vienna time (11 a.m. Eastern, but there have been delays, one oafter the other. Reporters now suggesting OPEC meeting may not be over.

Meanwhile, it appears that a six- to nine-month “continuation of the production cuts is a fait accompli following the meeting between Russian president Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In 2016, Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to try to jointly cut global oil output which called for production cuts of 1.2 million barrels a day from October 2018 levels.