Oil-Producing Nations Seek Global Deal to Stabilize Market

MOSCOW (AP) — Oil-producing countries including those of the OPEC cartel and Russia are trying to strike a global deal to pump less crude.

They are trying to limit a crash in prices that, while welcome for consumers, has been straining government budgets and pushed energy companies toward bankruptcy.

Thursday’s videoconference is part of a series of talks to boost energy prices, which have more than halved since the start of the year amid a pricing war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The drop was intensified when the coronavirus pandemic caused a further plunge in the demand.

The Russian government says it expects the United States to also cut production.