- The Washington Times - Thursday, September 20, 2018

President Trump demanded Thursday that OPEC immediately work to lower oil prices.

The president also suggested it was unfair that crude oil prices are rising when, “We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us.”

According to CNBC, oil prices reached over $70 a barrel on Wednesday, showing an increase of 8 percent in just the last month.

Mr. Trump’s call for lower prices comes just ahead of a meeting this weekend between the oil cartel and major oil-producing allies such as Russia to discuss oil production. The president has called on OPEC several times this year to increase production to lower oil prices.

The cartel is led by Saudi Arabia and controls about one-third of the world’s oil supply.

OPEC, Russia and other suppliers agreed in June to raise production slightly to offset the loss of crude from Iran, after Mr. Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and restored sanctions on the country.

The Trump administration has given a deadline of Nov. 4 for the cutoff of Iranian oil exports, which total about 2 million barrels a day.

• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.

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