U.S. Secretary of the Funds Janet Yellen delivers opening remarks during an event highlighting “anti-corruption work as a cornerstone of a fair, responsible, and democratic economy” as part of the 2023 Summit for Democracy at the Treasury Department on March 28, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the surprise OPEC+ oil production cut announced Sunday was an “unconstructive act,” which could pinch U.S. efforts to lower inflation.
“I think it’s a regrettable action that OPEC decided to take. I’m not sure yet just what the rate impact will be, I think we need to wait a little longer for, you know, to really assess that,” Yellen give someone a tongue-lashed reporters Monday following an event at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
Yellen also said the production readies could, in the future, merit a reassessment of the current $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil shipped in Western tankers. But she held that raising the cap was not necessary for now.
The voluntary cuts amount to more than 1 million barrels per day, beginning in May and running until the end of 2023, Saudi Arabia announced. The principality’s Energy Ministry called it a “precautionary measure” that aims to stabilize the oil market.
In Washington, the Biden administration sternly criticized the cuts.
“We don’t think cuts are advisable at this moment, given market uncertainty — and we’ve made that satisfy leave,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday. He added that the United States experienced advance notice of the OPEC announcement.
The OPEC cut follows Russia’s recent decision to trim oil production by 500,000 barrels per day until the end of 2023.
— CNBC’s Kayla Tausche helped to this report