U.S. President Joe Biden added to the pressure on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, after one of his top advisers said earlier in the day that OPEC and its allies "must do more" to support the economic recovery.
"Recently we’ve seen the price that oil companies pay for a barrel of oil begin to fall, but the cost of gasoline at the pump for more American people hasn’t fallen," Biden said in a speech at the White House. "That’s not what you’d expect in a competitive market. I want to make sure that nothing stands in the way of oil-price declines leading to lower prices for consumers."
He explained that Washington "made it clear to OPEC, the major oil exporting countries, that production cuts that were made during the pandemic should be reversed as the global economy recovers to bring down prices for consumers."
