OPEC+ agreed on Sunday a fourth increase in its oil output targets in as many ‌months, even though the U.S. war with Iran is still preventing several of the group's members from pumping more.

OPEC+ is set to raise its oil output targets for the fourth straight month, a strategic move amidst production hurdles faced by some of its member countries. Despite setbacks, prominent players such as Saudi Arabia are striving to align with demand.

The move is widely seen as symbolic as the war in the Middle East has choked off a critical waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes.

The cartel’s move to increase output by 188,000 barrels per day is largely symbolic, with vast amounts of the world’s oil stranded by the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.

Seven members of OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allied producers including Russia, increased output quotas from April to June by almost 600,000 barrels per day.

Crude futures settled lower with market expectations of a resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict outweighing concerns of a renewed flare-up.

OPEC+ ministers meet Sunday to weigh higher production quotas in a bid to cap oil prices that have surged since the Iran war effectively choked off Gulf crude shipments.

Fuel prices have spiked since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in February, ‌but Wright said he ⁠is not worried about stock levels in the SPR, which are at low levels. "I'm ⁠not concerned, because we're not selling any barrels of oil,