The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, aka OPEC-plus, scrapped plans to restart production talks this week after meetings held before the July 4 holiday failed to reach a deal on output policy.

Oil Prices

The cartel did not set a date to resume talks, leaving the group with no plan for increased production beyond July. It has put global oil markets in a state of uncertainty as demand mounts and prices climb.

Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and an allied group of leading producers headed by Russia last week discussed whether to raise output by about 400,000 b/d each month from August to December. Details were initially expected to be finalized before the U.S. holiday, but talks broke down amid objections from OPEC member the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE,...