-- OPEC crude production slumped to its lowest level in 36 years last month as an ongoing Iran conflict choked off Persian Gulf exports and forced a wave of supply shut-ins, a Bloomberg survey showed on Wednesday.
Output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries fell by 420,000 barrels per day in April to an average of 20.55 million b/d. The total marks the group's lowest production ceiling since 1990, led by deepening supply disruptions in Kuwait and Iran.
Last week, the producer group also faced another setback when the UAE announced its formal departure. Bloomberg's April survey includes figures for the UAE for the final month before its exit takes effect on May 1.
Kuwait registered the group's steepest decline in April, with output falling by 470,000 b/d to an average of 800,000 b/d.
Iran followed, after initially sustaining exports in the early phase of the conflict while restricting use of the strait by others, but has since come under mounting pressure from a US-led blockade on shipments.
However, despite the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, OPEC agreed over the weekend to a nominal increase in output quotas for June.
The symbolic move is intended to maintain the alliance's pre-war strategy of restoring production, though analysts noted the hikes remain largely "on paper" given the current maritime blockade.