Opec+ has elected to stick with its relatively modest production increases, dashing hopes for a larger boost by some major economies and likely dampening hopes for a dramatic tanker-market recovery in the fourth quarter.

The stay-the-course approach with a plan that adds 400,000 barrels per day each month into 2022 spiked oil prices to their highest levels since 2014, as US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude hit $78.13