US Urges OPEC+ to Boost Oil Output

US President Joe Biden's top aides are pressuring Opec and its allies to boost oil output to tackle rising gasoline prices that they see as a threat to global economic recovery, said a report.

Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan criticised the world's major oil producers for what he said were insufficient crude production levels in the aftermath of the global Covid-19 pandemic. "At a critical moment in the global recovery, this is simply not enough," he said in a statement.

The unusual statement ratcheted up international pressure and comes as the administration tries to contain a range of rising prices and supply bottlenecks across the economy that have fuelled inflation concerns.

Biden's administration is pressing countries within Opec+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other big producers, "on the importance of competitive markets in setting prices," Sullivan said. "Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery," he added. "Opec+ must do more to support the recovery."