Donald Trump slams Opec again as crude oil prices near $80 a barrel

By James Herron

U.S. President Donald Trump resumed his criticism of OPEC, saying the cartel “must get prices down now!”

Trump’s fresh Twitter intervention in the oil market comes before a meeting of ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in Algeria on Sunday. His complaints follow signals from Saudi Arabia that it was willing to see prices climb above $80 a barrel, which in the past has been a red line for the White House.


“With oil prices close to the highs of the year, the Trump tweet doesn’t come as a surprise,” said Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS Group AG. “Considering the upcoming OPEC meeting in Algiers, he wants to keep pressure on the group ahead of the mid-term elections.”


Futures were 0.1 percent lower in London, erasing an earlier gain of as much as 0.5 percent to trade at $79.27 a barrel at 12:30 p.m. local time.

Prices have risen as American sanctions curb Iran’s oil exports. While Saudi Arabia and Russia have recently boosted output to compensate, it’s unclear whether they’re willing or able to offset all the losses from Iran.