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The OPEC oil-producing countries and ally Russia said Dec. 6 they have agreed to cut their crude production by an extra 500,000 barrels a day as they try to support global energy prices.

The world may be heading for an even greater oversupply of oil, and that possibility — which could drive down fuel and energy prices — is hanging over members of the OPEC cartel as they head into negotiations Dec. 5. 

When the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meets this week, ministers will discuss whether to extend their current output target, because they believe relentless U.S. oil production growth will slow rapidly next year.

Oil traded near a seven-week high as supply risks from a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and falling U.S. stockpiles were countered by a weak market outlook from OPEC in 2020.

Oil rose near $70 a barrel in London, a level last breached in November, as global crude supplies tightened while hopes for an end to the U.S.-China trade impasse lifted financial markets.

President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of OPEC, saying the cartel should increase production because prices are getting “too high.”

Oil in New York rose to the highest level this year after OPEC and its partners agreed to go beyond their pledged supply curbs in the coming months.

The United States imported the least amount of crude oil on a weekly basis in 23 years, as OPEC-members Saudi Arabia and Venezuela cut their shipments to unusually low levels.

President Donald Trump resumed his attacks on OPEC, saying the world is too fragile to handle a price hike and urging the cartel to “relax and take it easy.”

OPEC reduced its estimate for the amount of crude the world needs it to pump this year as U.S. production continues to thrive and the demand outlook falters.