OPEC and allied oil-producing countries, including Russia, made a small trim in their supplies to the global economy Monday, underlining their unhappiness as recession fears help drive down crude prices — along with the cost of gasoline, to drivers’ delight. The decision for October rolls back a mostly symbolic increase of 100,000 barrels per day in September. It follows a statement last month from Saudi Arabia’s energy minister that the OPEC+ coalition could reduce output at any time. Oil producers such as Saudi Arabia have resisted calls from U.S. President Joe Biden to pump more oil to lower gasoline prices and the burden on consumers. OPEC+ has stuck with only cautious increases to make up for deep cuts made during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were finally restored in August. Since then, growing worries about slumping future demand have helped send oil prices down from June peaks of over $120 per barrel, cutting into the windfall for OPEC+ countries’ coffers but proving a blessing for drivers in the U.S. as pump prices have eased. Read: Foreign exchange rate stable after Bangladesh Bank tightens spending The supply cut for October is only a small fraction of the 43.8 million barrels per day under OPEC+ production goals, but wrong-footed several market analysts’ predictions of no change in output. The amount of oil per day “may seem negligible, but the message from today’s cut is clear: OPEC+ thinks they’ve fallen enough,” Columbia University energy policy expert Jason Bordoff tweeted. Oil prices jumped after the announcement. U.S. crude rose 3.3%, to $89.79 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent was up 3.7%, to $96.50, after the decision. Oil prices have gyrated in recent months: Recession fears have pushed them down, while worries of a loss of Russian oil because of sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine pushed them up. Recently, recession fears have taken the upper hand. Economists in Europe are penciling in a recession at the end of this year due to skyrocketing inflation fed by energy costs, while China’s severe restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus have sapped growth in that major world economy. Those falling oil prices have been a boon to U.S. drivers, sending gasoline prices down to $3.82 per gallon from record highs of over $5 in June and offering a potential boost to Biden as his Democratic Party heads into midterm elections. In June, fears that U.S. and European sanctions would take Russian oil off the market helped push Brent to over $123. Prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks as it became clear that Russia is still managing to sell significant amounts of oil in Asia, albeit at sharply discounted prices. Read: Liz Truss: UK's incoming PM who models herself on Iron Lady Thatcher But concerns about the loss of Russian supply are still out there because European sanctions aimed at blocking most Russian oil imports won’t take effect until the end of the year. Other factors are lurking that could influence the price of oil. For one, the Group of Seven wealthy democracies plan to impose a price cap on Russian oil aimed at battling high energy prices and reducing oil profits that Russia can use for its war in Ukraine. That’s if the cap works as intended. Russia could refuse to supply oil to countries and companies observing the cap, which would take barrels off the market. The price cap has not been set, and its influence on the global price remains unclear. Meanwhile, a deal between Western countries and Iran to limit Tehran’s nuclear program could ease sanctions and see more than 1 million barrels per day of Iranian oil return to the market in coming months. However, tensions between the U.S. and Iran appear to have risen in recent days: Iran seized two U.S. naval drones in the Red Sea, and U.S., Kuwaiti and Saudi warplanes flew over the Middle East on Sunday in a show of force. OPEC+ countries’ energy ministers said Monday that their September increase of 100,000 barrels a day was only for that month and that the group could meet again at any time to address market developments. The group said its chairman could call an extraordinary meeting at any time ahead of the next scheduled meeting Oct. 5.

Saudi Arabia said Monday that it “won't bear any responsibility" for a shortage in global oil supplies after a fierce barrage of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels affected production in the kingdom, the world's largest oil exporter. The unusually stark warning marked a departure from the giant oil producer's typically cautious statements, as Saudi officials remain aware that even their smallest comments can swing the price of oil and rattle global markets. The salvo of rebel attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities marked a serious escalation in the war, which erupted in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north. Saudi Arabia and its allies responded with a devastating air campaign to dislodge the Houthis and restore the internationally recognized government. Seven years later, the conflict has turned into a bloody stalemate and spawned one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. Also read: Asian shares extend losses as oil prices push higher The state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted the Saudi Foreign Ministry as saying that the kingdom “declares that it will not bear any responsibility for any shortage in oil supplies to global markets in light of the attacks on its oil facilities.” The announcement comes as the kingdom remains in lockstep with OPEC and other oil-producing countries in a deal limiting production increases. Gulf Arab oil producers have so far resisted pressure from the Biden administration to pump more crude to help bring down oil prices that have soared amid Russia's war on Ukraine. Already, gasoline prices have hit record highs around the world. Gas prices in the U.S. topped $4.25 on Monday, according to auto club AAA, just below the historic record of $4.33 reached earlier this month. “The international community must assume its responsibility to preserve energy supplies," the Saudi statement added, in order to deter attacks that jeopardize “the kingdom’s production capability and its ability to fulfill its commitments." The international oil benchmark Brent crude hovered over $112 a barrel in trading Monday, up more than 4% for the preceding session. The price remained below a peak of nearly $140 hit earlier this month, but still some $15 a barrel more than before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Sunday, Yemen's Iran-backed rebels launched one of their most intense series of attacks targeting the kingdom's oil and natural gas production, sparking a fire at a petroleum distribution center in the port of Jiddah, the country’s second-largest city, and disrupting production at a petrochemicals complex in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. The overall extent of damage at the installations remained unclear. The Saudi Energy Ministry acknowledged a temporary drop in oil output at the 400,000-barrel-a-day Yanbu site, without elaborating. The government condemned the attacks as a threat to the security of global oil supplies “in these extremely sensitive circumstances." Even before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, global energy supplies were struggling to keep pace with surging post-pandemic demand. The West's punitive sanctions on Moscow, among the world's largest oil producers and exporters, unleashed more turmoil on the market. The relentless wave of Houthi strikes began before dawn Sunday and sporadically pounded sites throughout the kingdom's south and west for hours, with the roar and thump of missile interceptors rattling residents in Jiddah until just before midnight.   The attacks on installations run by the state-controlled national oil company Aramco, among the world's most significant and valuable companies, exposed the gaps in Saudi defenses and recalled the dramatic attacks on two key oil installations in the country's east that temporarily knocked out half of Saudi Arabia’s total oil production. Also read: Oil prices jump, shares sink as Ukraine conflict deepens The Houthis claimed responsibility for that sophisticated attack in September 2019, which the U.S. and Riyadh later blamed on Iran. Even after shrapnel blasted through the critical Abqaiq oil processing facility, Saudi Arabia delivered no such similar warning about its responsibility for global oil supplies and swinging prices. Instead the kingdom stressed it would speedily return to normal levels of production. After Sunday's strikes, a senior administration official confirmed that the United States has transferred a significant number of Patriot antimissile interceptors to help Saudi Arabia thwart the barrage of Houthi drone and missile attacks. “We condemn the weekend attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Iran-supported Houthis and will continue to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory,” tweeted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “These are attacks against civilians, and they must end.”