OPEC+ is not considering delay to April oil supply hike, Novak says

MOSCOW (Reuters) - OPEC+ producers are not considering delaying a series of monthly oil supply increases that is scheduled to begin in April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday, Russia's RIA state news agency reported.

Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing delegates, that OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, was examining whether to postpone the supply increases, despite calls from U.S. President Donald Trump to lower oil prices.

Three OPEC+ delegates told Reuters that so far there had been no discussion on delaying the increase. One of them said the oil market may be able to absorb extra supply from April as a result of tougher sanctions and higher Chinese demand, although it was too early to make that call.

All sources declined to be identified by name.

Some analysts, such as Morgan Stanley, have said they expect OPEC+ to extend its current output levels again. OPEC and the Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

OPEC+ is cutting output by 5.85 million barrels per day (bpd), equal to about 5.7% of global supply, agreed in a series of steps since 2022.

In December, OPEC+ extended its latest layer of cuts through the first quarter of 2025, pushing back the plan to begin raising output to April. The extension was the latest of several delays due to weak demand and rising supply outside the group.

Based on that plan, the unwinding of 2.2 million bpd of cuts - the most recent layer - and the start of an increase for the United Arab Emirates, begins in April with a monthly rise of 138,000 bpd, according to Reuters calculations.

The hikes will last until September 2026. Based on OPEC+'s previous practice, a final decision to go ahead with the April increase is expected around early March.

(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova, Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler, Maha El Dahan and Yousef Saba; Writing by Lucy Papachristou and Alex Lawler, Editing by Andrew Osborn and Barbara Lewis)

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