OPEC+ stays course on oil output boost in August

VIENNA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, said on Thursday that they would stick to a previously decided output boost in August despite calls for bigger increases to rein in crude prices.

At its last meeting in early June, OPEC+ decided to advance the planned output increases of 432,000 barrels per day (bpd) for September and redistribute it equally to the previous two months, thus raising production each month by 648,000 bpd in July and August.

The 30th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on Thursday confirmed the plan to increase production by 648,000 bpd in August, according to an OPEC statement released after the meeting.