What are the Biden administration's options, and could they backfire?
Oil producer group OPEC and its allied partners in early October announced its largest supply cut since 2020, to the tune of 2 million barrels per day from November.
With the global economy on a knife-edge and energy prices high, Washington sees the kingdom's move – which it made in coordination with Russia and other oil-producing states – as a snub and a blatant display of siding with Moscow., to the tune of 2 million barrels per day from November, which its members say is designed to spur a recovery in crude prices to counter a potential fall in demand.
"The truth is, neither side has been holding up their end of the bargain for nearly 10 years now," Michael Stephens, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told CNBC.