A group consisting of some of the worlds most powerful oil producers on Thursday will meet to decide on the next phase of output policy. OPEC and nonOPEC partners, a group sometimes referred to as OPEC , convened for talks via videoconference at around 125 p.m. London time. The OPEC alliance is currently cutting by just over 7 million barrels per day in an attempt to prop up prices and reduce oversupply. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia has voluntarily added an additional 1 million barrels per day to those cuts.

The meeting comes shortly after the Suez Canal reopened to traffic and as the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, with French President Emmanuel Macron ordering the country into its third national lockdown to alleviate some of the pressure on hospitals. The ongoing coronavirus crisis continues to cloud the demand outlook and analysts expect this to reaffirm Saudi Arabias caution about the global economic recovery.

Analysts at Eurasia Group said the most likely outcome for the OPEC meeting is for the group to keep production unchanged from April and for Saudi Arabia to continue to withhold its additional 1 million barrels per day although it may taper this slightly by 100,000 barrels to signal its willingness to adjust. They noted that the last month in global oil markets featured a significant level of volatility and a selloff that brought Brent crude futures down to 62 a barrel from 70, before stabilizing around 64 in recent days.

International benchmark…