OPEC+ meets omicron: New variant clouds oil supply decision

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and CATHY BUSSEWITZ
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — OPEC and allied oil-producing countries are meeting under the spikey shadow of a new COVID-19 threat as they decide how much oil to pump to a world paying more for gasoline. Thursday’s online meeting is clouded by uncertainty over the omicron variant’s impact on the global economic recovery. Officials from OPEC countries, led by Saudi Arabia, and their allies, led by Russia, will decide whether to stick with pre-omicron plans for steady, modest monthly increases in oil releases or scale back those planned upticks. The fast-mutating variant led countries to impose travel restrictions when it emerged late last week.