Energy

Trump: ‘OPEC Is At It Again’

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President Donald Trump directed his Twitter fire Wednesday morning at OPEC, blaming the international cartel for rising oil prices.

Oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. Not good!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

This is not the first time President Trump has complained about OPEC on his favorite social media platform. “Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea, Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!” he tweeted on April 20.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a 14-member coalition, has sharply reduced the supply of oil exports, leading to higher prices at the pump. After retail gasoline prices surged to their highest prices in over three years, President Trump earlier this month requested Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members increase production.

It’s not immediately clear if OPEC will react to the president’s tweet, but members are certainly paying attention.

“We were in the meeting in Jeddah, when we read the tweet. I think I was prodded by his excellency Khalid Al-Falih that probably there was a need for us to respond. We in OPEC always pride ourselves as friends of the United States,” said OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo in response to Trump’s April tweet. Barkindo credited the tweet for jumpstarting talks between OPEC and Russia that aimed to increase production.

Geopolitical factors have made a huge impact on U.S. gas prices. Despite the shale boom taking place within American shores, OPEC manipulation, Venezuelan production plummeting and renewed sanctions on Iran have kept gas prices high.

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