US asks OPEC to raise oil production

WASHINGTON: The U.S. government has asked Saudi Arabia and some other OPEC producers to increase oil production by about 1 million barrels a day, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The request comes after U.S. retail gasoline prices surged to their highest in more than three years and President Donald Trump publicly complained about OPEC policy and rising oil prices on Twitter.

It also follows Washington´s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran´s crude exports that had previously displaced about 1 million barrels a day from global markets, the report said.