Iran tells OPEC it raised supply by most since sanctions

Iran, which has said it’s exempt from Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC’s) accord to cut production, told the group it raised output by the most since international sanctions were lifted. Iran said it increased output by 210,000 barrels a day to 3.92 million a day in October from the previous month, according to a report from the OPEC. That’s 230,000 barrels a day more than estimated by OPEC itself, whose members are due to finalise how much each will cut when they gather on November 30. Production from Saudi Arabia, which typically declines at this time of year, remained near record levels. Oil prices climbed about 16 per cent in the weeks after OPEC’s September 28 meeting in Algiers, where the group ended a two-year policy of pumping without limits to agree a production cut aimed at clearing a global surplus. Yet prices have since retreated on doubts the deal can succeed when key members Iran and Iraq argue they shouldn’t need to cut while recovering from losses to war and sanctions. (Grant Smith/Bloomberg)