Oil supply may decrease due to conflict in the Middle East, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

He also reiterated that oil prices are already being affected by the conflict. In fact, he emphasized that oil prices have already increased. At the same time, he pointed out that he sees an increase in demand for oil consumption today.

In particular, OPEC+ kept its oil production policy unchanged during the meeting of its top ministers held earlier today, an OPEC+ source said while the meeting was underway.

The talks focused on compliance with production cuts resulting from the war in the Middle East and ministers are likely to adjust compensation programs for those countries that have exceeded their targets, another OPEC+ source said.

Oil prices fell below $70 a barrel in September for the first time since 2021, but have since risen above $75 on concerns that Iran’s military attack on Israel could disrupt production from the region.

“The conflict in the Middle East itself, overall, had already partially affected the price,” Novak said.

“The market reacts, first of all, to the fact that the supply in the market may decrease as a result of some conflict or military action,” he added.