OPEC agrees to boost oil supply amid price surge

OPEC has agreed to boost oil supplies amid a surge in prices, Reuters reported on Sunday. 

OPEC said it will add 400,000 barrels each month by the end of the year and agreed to new production adjustments amounting to 1.63 million more barrels per day that will begin in May 2022.

The group also agreed to extend an existing pact from April 2022 to the end of 2022, according to Reuters.  

OPEC reportedly agreed with member countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, and Iraq on new output quotas. The UAE, for example, will see its baseline production rise from 3.168 million to 3.5 million barrels per day in May of 2022, Reuters reported. 

The group had cut production from a record 10 million barrels per day in 2020 due to the pandemic-related slump and decreasing prices. 

The American Automobile Association (AAA) said earlier this month that the national average price of gas increased from $2.25 to $3.13 between Jan. 1 and July 6, a 40 percent spike.

It projected a further increase of between 10 and 20 cents by the end of the summer, which would amount to a national average of $3.25 per gallon.