The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, June 3, edition that OPEC+ has agreed to extend most of its significant oil output cuts well into 2025. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that the group aims to support the market due to slow demand growth, high interest rates and increased U.S. production. Brent crude oil prices have hovered near $80 (U.S.) per barrel lately, which is below the level many OPEC+ members require to balance their budgets. Concerns about sluggish demand growth in China, the world's top oil importer, have contributed to this, along with the rise in oil stocks in developed economies. OPEC and its allies, led by Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, have implemented substantial output cuts since late 2022. OPEC+ members are currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels a day (b/d), or about 5.7 per cent of global demand. Those include 3.66 million b/d of cuts, which were due to expire at the end of 2024, and voluntary cuts by eight members of 2.2 million b/d, expiring at the end of June, 2024. On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to extend the cuts of 3.66 million b/d by a year until the end of 2025 and prolong the cuts of 2.2 million b/d by three months until the end of September, 2024.