
US leans on Saudi Arabia over rising oil prices as OPEC meets
CNN
The United States has stressed the importance of "affordable" energy to Saudi Arabia ahead of a meeting of major oil producers, which will decide whether to pump more barrels following a sharp increase in prices.
Jennifer Granholm, the US energy secretary, said on Wednesday that she had a "positive" call with Saudi energy minister Abdulaziz Bin Salman. "We reaffirmed the importance of international cooperation to ensure affordable and reliable sources of energy for consumers," Granholm said on Twitter. The timing and substance of the call suggest that the United States would like to see oil supplies increase following a 70% spike in the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, over the past five months. US gasoline prices have also risen sharply to an average of $2.88 per gallon.
Before the stealth bombers streaked through the Middle Eastern night, or the missiles rained down on suspected terrorists in Africa, or commandos snatched a South American president from his bedroom, or the icy slopes of Greenland braced for the threat of invasion, there was an idea at the White House.

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