OPEC+ will ease oil production restrictions in phases from May 1

Despite the surge in coronavirus cases in India, Brazil and Japan, OPEC, Russia and their allies (OPEC+) will stick to their plans to ease oil production restrictions in phases from May to July amid optimistic forecasts for a recovery in global oil demand
.

After a ministerial meeting on Tuesday, OPEC+ abandoned plans
to hold a ministerial meeting on Wednesday, the sources said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novok said after the talks that the group decided to stick to policies
broadly agreed previously at the OPEC+ April 1 meeting.
And, the next OPEC+ ministerial meeting is scheduled for June 1 to review output levels
in July and August.

OPEC and its coalition (OPEC+), which accounts for more than a third of global oil capacity, have cut capacity by 8 million b/d, equivalent to 8 percent of global demand, including 1 million b/d
from Saudi Arabia's resource cuts.

At its April 1 meeting, the group agreed to bring 2.
1 million b/d of oil back to market from May to July, reducing production cuts to 5.
8 million b/d
.

The group predicts that global oil demand will grow by about 6 million b/d by 2021 after falling by 9.
5 million b/d
last year.

But while more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally, the group said it feared a surge in new virus cases in India, Brazil and Japan could undermine the recovery
in demand for crude oil.

Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday after falling in the previous session, with gains limited
by growing concerns about fuel demand from India, the world's third-largest crude importer.

OPEC+ reported that commercial oil inventories are expected to reach 2.
95 billion barrels in July, below the 2015-2019 average, and hope to remain below that level
for the rest of the year.

The group said it expects inventories to be about 70 million barrels below average for the full year of 2021, a more optimistic
outlook of 20 million barrels below its previous forecast.