TOKYO, Reuters – On Friday oil prices rose by more than 1%. This was after OPEC+ producers rejected a U.S. request to increase supply. Instead they planned for a gradual return to production that had been halted due the pandemic.

The price per barrel rose to $81.36 by 0146 GMT. This was just a little more than 1% after a drop of almost 2% Thursday. The U.S. Oil gained 97 cents, or 1.25 to $75.78 per barrel after falling 2.5% during the previous session.

On Thursday, the OPEC++ group of important producers decided to keep their plans to boost oil production by 400,000 barrels/day (bpd), beginning December. They ignored calls by Joe Biden to add more output to help cool rising prices.

Edward Moya (OANDA senior market analyst) said, “This was an effortless and fast OPEC+ Meeting on Output.” Furthermore, he added that “at no stage did OPEC+ reconsider their output strategy which was entirely the message they had.”

OPEC+ is a grouping of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, (OPEC), and large producers, including Russia. It has restricted supply since the coronavirus pandemic caused by a dwindling of demand.

Recently, oil prices reached seven-year highs. However, they fell this week due to a buildup in stocks in the United States and indications that higher prices could encourage supply from elsewhere.

Brent’s weekly decline is expected to be nearly 4%, this being the second consecutive week of contract falls. The U.S. is on track for an almost 5% decline in oil this week.