Last month, OPEC+ (which includes Russia) announced that it would cut oil production by two million barrels per day.  Shortly after, the President of the United States announced that another 15 million barrels of oil would be released from our nation's Strategic Oil Reserve (SOR) in December (that's this month).

            Between then and now, we've seen the prices at the pump rise and fall, then rise a little bit more and fall a little bit more.  If you're confused, don't feel alone because there are plenty of folks who feel the same way.

            Many people felt that the price of oil would fall in the weeks before the election and, thankfully, the price has remained below $4 a gallon.  Helping the fall was the demand as many still aren't sure about inflation and recession.

            So, what is the prospect of the price continuing to fall?

            Things didn't work out so well back in July when President Biden made a trip to Saudi Arabia to meet with leaders there.  Many folks had their fingers crossed but uncrossed them when the price of oil rose 5% before Air Force One touched down back in the U.S.A.

            Saudi officials reported that the topic of increasing production never came up.  You know, he said, he said.

            Perhaps some of Saudi's bitterness towards the U.S. is because on the 2020 campaign trail candidate Joe Biden promised to treat that country's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman as a pariah.  The Crown Prince has been implicated in the cold-blooded murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

            Well, reports came out last week that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members are considering a boost of about 500,000 barrels a day in oil production.  The turnabout came after it was reported by White House officials that the President now favors shielding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman from civil litigation related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

            But, don't get your hopes up too high.  Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman denied the reports.

            A failure could lead some nations to ignore the embargo on Russian oil and allow them to pump more cash into their war with Ukraine.

            We won't have to wait long to find out because the next meeting of OPEC+ is scheduled for Dec. 4.

            Fingers crossed.