OPEC+ allies were locked in a tense diplomatic standoff on Friday amid a dispute that threatens to send oil prices sharply higher. A day after the alliance was forced to delay its key policy meeting, positions remained entrenched, with the United Arab Emirates still blocking a deal to increase supply, a delegate said. Failure to agree on raising output would squeeze an already tight market, risking a further inflationary price spike. Most members of an OPEC+ advisory panel backed a proposal to add 400,000 barrels a day from August to December — and extend the broader supply deal later into next year — as OPEC+’s full ministerial meeting finally got under way, though the UAE remained staunchly opposed, according to delegates. “If OPEC+ fails to reach a compromise, the automatic fallback will be to roll over current quotas into August and beyond,” said Matthew Holland, a geopolitical analyst at […]