Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are violating their production quotas, pumping more oil as prices for the commodity continue to rise. Daily output from the 11 members bound by quotas rose 129,000 barrels a day to 26.776 million barrels a day in December, according to Bloomberg News.
Iraq is the lone OPEC nation not beholden to the cartel's quota system, though there has been speculation that will change if the country can boost its output in the coming years. While output in Angola and Iran recently declined, production increases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela more than made up for the lost production.
OPEC implemented the quota system in 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis when commodities prices were plunging. The cartel's adherence to the cut of 4.2 million barrels a day, capping supply at 24.845 million, slipped as prices rose 8.6 percent in December, Bloomberg reported.
The UAE increased production by 76,200 barrels per day last month while Saudi Arabia boosted output by 62,400 barrels per day, OPEC said. Angola's daily output slid by 102,000 barrels while Iran's fell by 3,800 barrels.
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