OPEC+ is prepared to reduce its oil output in order to deal with a recent decline in the price of crude, due to weak futures market liquidity and macroeconomic fears, while the physical global crude supply remains extremely tight, said Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, to Bloomberg on Aug. 22. (OPEC+ refers to the original 13 members of OPEC, plus 11 other non-OPEC members.)

Crude prices have dropped in recent weeks, to around $95 per barrel, from its high of $120 in March, as fears of a contraction in the Chinese economy and a recession in Europe and the United States have roiled the markets.

Oil and gas prices skyrocketed after the Russia invasion of Ukraine and the implementation of Western sanctions on Moscow earlier this year, triggering the worst energy supply crisis since the 1970s.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the only two out of the 23 members of OPEC that currently have the spare capacity and ability to increase oil production to have an effect on the market.