Trump says OPEC has not asked him to urge U.S. oil producers to cut back

President Donald Trump said on Monday that OPEC had not pressed him to consider asking U.S. producers to reduce their output as a way to support oil prices depressed by an economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The president said that OPEC had not approached him with such a suggestion but said that U.S. oil production had already fallen. "I think it's happening automatically but nobody's asked me that question yet so we'll see what happens," the president told a press briefing.

Major oil producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia are likely to agree to cut production at a Thursday meeting but only if the United States joins the effort, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Monday.