OPEC Cuts Oil Production In Hopes Of Raising Prices

Oil prices have seen few changes hovering between 22 and 23 dollars a barrel after an international agreement to decrease production and raise prices and Oklahoma's oil producers saw little if any benefit to the deal as well.

Low gas prices are one of the end results of a price war that started a month ago, but so are layoffs in the oil industry. The bottom dropped out for crude oil prices just as the coronavirus really started cutting back the demand for oil.

Now with travel practically at a standstill, worldwide, and businesses closed, there's not as much demand, despite prices being low. OPEC plans to cut production by 10 million barrels a day with the intention of stabilizing prices.

President Trump predicts the cutbacks "will save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States" but so far analysts disagree.

"So when you're talking about a proposed cut of 10 million barrels a day, that hardly makes up for anything. What it may do is stabilize prices in the $20s, but those are not sustainable prices for most US oil and gas producers," said Professor Tom Seng with the University of Tulsa

Professor Seng said it's when demand for oil returns, maybe with summer travel - the prices should go up - but right now they're lower than anytime lately and many oil companies are laying off employees.