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A surprise move by OPEC+ expected to cause more pain at the pump

Gas Prices
Posted at 5:43 PM, Apr 03, 2023
and last updated 2023-04-03 18:43:45-04

CLEVELAND — A surprise move by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers sent oil prices surging on Monday. The world's largest oil producers announced over the weekend they would cut oil production by about a million barrels a day.

"Bad news for American consumers definitely," said Law Professor Juscelino Colares, Case Western Reserve University.

Bryonna Robinson is the mother of three. "It's a big worry," said Robinson.

Experts predict prices at the pump could go up by 20%.

"It's definitely a concern for me. I already have to pay for groceries which I remind you went up as well," said Robinson. "Ten dollars used to get you far; it's not getting you far no more."
The cut in oil production comes as Americans continue to struggle with inflation not seen since the 1970s. For drivers like Pablo Lopez, the prices at the pump could put the brakes on travel.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't take this trip because of the cost. It limits our travel for sure," said Lopez.

The decrease in production comes just in time for the busy summer travel season. But it could impact your money in other ways.

"It seemed that the fed was ready to kind of do a pause and signal that in the future, towards the second half of the year, when we're expecting to have a recession, the fed would stop and even decrease rates. Now, it forces the hand of the fed to perhaps continue with small increment increases for longer than it might have desired," said Colares.

The change in production is expected to start next month.

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