OPEC likely to agree 432,000 bpd increase in June
OPEC says Chinese lockdowns hitting demand
Formal talks start at 1100 GMT

LONDON, May 5 Reuters OPEC is likely stick to its plan for modest oil output increases on Thursday, arguing that the producer group cannot be blamed for global supply disruptions and saying China39;s coronavirus lockdowns threaten the outlook for demand.

Five OPEC delegates said the group was set to agree to increase its June output target by 432,000 barrels per day, in line with its existing plan to unwind output curbs made during the worst of the COVID19 pandemic in 2020.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, which together make up OPEC, hold formal ministerial talks at 1130 GMT after a meeting of the advisory Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee.

The meeting comes against a backdrop of surging oil prices, which hit their highest since 2008 at more than 139 a barrel in March after Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated supply concerns that were already fuelling a price rally.

I do not think a new decision will be made, one of the delegates said. Another said it was highly expected that the meeting would be short and stick to the plan.

The OPEC meeting comes a day after the European Union proposed a phased embargo on Russian oil in its toughest measures yet over the war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation.

The embargo will likely force Russia to reroute flows to Asia…