Sources: Sanctions and tariff uncertainties persist, OPEC+ hesitant to increase production in April

The March 28th Golden Ten Data reported that eight sources said that OPEC+ is discussing whether to increase oil production in April as planned or freeze oil production. Due to new US sanctions on Venezuela, Iran, and Russia, OPEC+ member countries are struggling to interpret the global supply situation. OPEC+ usually confirms its supply policy one month in advance to allow time to allocate crude oil to buyers. Therefore, the organization must finalize the production for April before March 5th to 7th, but so far no Consensus has been reached. Some sources said that within OPEC+, the UAE is eager to continue to increase production with its rising capacity, and Russia is also keen to do so. Other member countries including Saudi Arabia support delaying production increases. Sources said that the recent combination of bullish and bearish factors has made the decision for April extremely complex. They added that Trump's global tariff plan may reduce oil demand and further complicate the outlook.