- President Joe
Biden is set to visitSaudi Arabia next month, according to NBC News. - He will meet with the country's de facto leader,
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
As global
Oil prices rose Tuesday, with Brent crude up about 0.53% to $122.82 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate up 0.62% to $121.50.
Sources told NBC News that the trip will run from July 13 to 16. Biden will first meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the nation's de facto leader. Later, Biden will meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes leaders from other top oil-producing nations in the region, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Previously, Biden denied that a visit to Saudi Arabia would be aimed at convincing the Saudis to boost oil production to stem rising
Earlier this month, OPEC+ agreed to ramp up oil production for the summer, but crude prices have remained elevated. Analysts told Insider that member nations were struggling to meet output quotas even before the production boost was announced, so it's unlikely that the cartel can actually lower global crude prices.
"The market is questioning whether OPEC countries can actually meet the call for higher production," Rob Thummel, managing director and portfolio manager of Tortoise Capital, previously told Insider.
At the same time, the IEA has forecasted that the world will be missing 3 million barrels a day from Russia soon.
Any further oil production boosts would still have a limited effect on fuel prices as bottlenecks at refineries limit how much they can process.
Meanwhile in the US, demand remains strong as summer driving season gets underway. According to AAA data, the US national average for a gallon of gas hit $5.016 Tuesday, about 63% higher than one year ago.