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LONDON: OPEC+ agreed to keep oil production \u200ctargets steady for November at a meeting on Sunday, the producer group said, in line with expectations that further output policy adjustments are unlikely until next year.<\/strong><\/p>\n Seven core members of the group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting \u200bCountries and allies including Russia made the decision for November in a brief online meeting \u200bon Sunday. The core members are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and \u2060Oman.<\/span><\/p>\n Gulf OPEC+ producers have been pumping well below output targets in the face of continuing export \u200bdisruptions from the US-Israeli war on Iran, with exports fluctuating at 60% to 80% of normal levels in recent \u200bmonths.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe OPEC+ group of seven kept their production ceilings unchanged, in line with market expectations. That said, despite rising flows through the Strait of Hormuz, their output levels remain well below quota,\u201d said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cConsequently, the oil \u200bmarket remains tight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Oil prices had dropped on Friday after European leaders agreed to US President Donald Trump\u2019s \u200brequest to release diesel reserves. Even so, Brent crude remains above $100 a barrel, up from about $73 before the Iran \u200cwar started \u2060in late February.<\/span><\/p>\n The Iran war has also delayed the group\u2019s output capacity review \u2014 crucial to determine members\u2019 2027 output quotas \u2014 because it has thrown estimates of future production potential into uncertainty, industry sources told Reuters last week.<\/span><\/p>\n OPEC+ has been raising output targets for much \u200bof 2026 after years of \u200bproduction cuts, but most \u2060of the increases stayed on paper because of the Middle East conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n The seven core OPEC+ members pumped 25 million barrels per day in August, up \u200b630,000 bpd from July, yet still roughly 5 million bpd below prewar levels \u200bin February, \u2060OPEC data shows.<\/span><\/p>\n The seven hold their next meeting on November 1.<\/span><\/p>\n OPEC+ still has about 2 million bpd of output cuts in place covering most members. It needs the result of the capacity review to decide how \u2060to distribute \u200bincreases and any changes to output are unlikely before 2027, sources \u200bhave said.<\/span><\/p>\nOUTPUT HIKES HAVE BEEN LARGELY ON PAPER THIS YEAR<\/span><\/h2>\n