Why OPEC+ is accelerating oil production as prices are tanking and tariffs hammer markets

Natasha Turak - CNBC - 04/04
Markets were stunned when OPEC+ when chose not only to go ahead with its plans to raise oil production, but also to nearly triple the expected increase figure.
The Phillips 66 Company's Los Angeles Refinery in California.
Bing Guan | Reuters

The oil price outlook is being hit with more bearish forecasts on the back of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping and market-hammering tariff announcements. Businesses and investors worry that a trade war and lower global growth lies ahead.

Goldman Sachs on Thursday reduced its December 2025 forecasts for global and U.S. benchmarks Brent crude and WTI by $5 to $66 and $62 a barrel, respectively, "because the two key downside risks we have flagged are realizing, namely tariff escalation and somewhat higher OPEC+ supply."

The bank also cut its forecasts for the oil benchmarks in 2025 and 2026, adding that "we no longer forecast a price range, because price volatility is likely to stay elevated on higher recession risk." Analysts at S&P Global Market Intelligence predict that in a worst-case scenario, global oil demand growth could be slashed by 500,000 barrels per day.

JPMorgan, for its part, raised its recession odds for the global economy to 60% for this year...
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