Trump urges OPEC to ‘keep prices down’ as oil cartel’s meeting wraps up

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

President Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion about trade in Duluth, Minnesota, June 20, 2018.

President Donald Trump said on Friday he wants OPEC to raise its oil production.

“Hope OPEC will increase output substantially. Need to keep prices down!” Trump said on Twitter.

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OPEC announced from its meeting in Vienna, Austria that it would raise output but it was unclear still by how much. The official press release by the group did not say. Early reports indicated the aim was to increase output by about 1 million barrels per day. But reports so far indicate OPEC has only pledged to stop overshooting its 18-month-old deal to keep 1.2 million bpd off the market in order to boost prices.

—With reporting by Tom DiChristopher