OPEC+ countries agree modest rise in production as Iran retains chokehold on key Strait of Hormuz

VIENNA — Seven countries in the OPEC+ grouping of oil-producing countries - including Saudi Arabia and Russia - say they’ve decided to a modest increase in production starting in June as part of a commitment to “market stability.” The commitment from the seven countries, also including Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Oman, to raise production by 188,000 barrels per day comes after a virtual meeting they held on Sunday. The move is mostly symbolic because it comes as Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, where about a fifth of the world’s trade in oil and natural gas typically passes, in the midst of the U.S.-Israeli war. That has stopped much of the oil shipped from Gulf producers and knocked millions of barrels a day off the global market. It also follows a decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the OPEC oil cartel, shaking up the 65-year-old alliance that produces some 40% of the world’s crude oil and exerts major influence over the price of energy around the globe. Iran is one of OPEC’s 12 member countries, and Russia is not - it works with the Vienna-based oil producers alliance through the