The government insists it has already cut fuel duty once, and is offering other financial support for the public, while blaming Russia for igniting the rapid rise in energy prices.
Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Monday, paring gains from the previous session as fears of global recession weighed on the market even as supply remains tight amid lower OPEC output, unrest in Libya and sanctions on Russia.
OPEC's oil revenue surged in 2021 as prices and demand recovered from the worst of the COVID pandemic, while the number of its members' active rigs posted a modest rebound and new completed wells declined, data from the group showed.
Oil prices were roughly unchanged on Friday, clinging to gains made in the previous session on doubts that producers belonging to OPEC+ can hike their crude output enough to make up for lost supply from Russia.
Members of the oil cartel OPEC and their partners agreed Tuesday to raise output slightly in February and March.
Crude oil prices have picked up by 25 percent since the beginning of the month and have returned to roughly their pre-pandemic levels.
After a Sunday videoconference, the top producers agreed to slash daily production by 9.7 million barrels from May.
The rally followed months of slumping prices after the COVID-19 outbreak sapped demand as countries around the world are under lockdown.
The pandemic has now claimed more than 94,000 lives around the world.
The slowing rate of news infections is providing some much-needed buoyancy to equities as investors eye an easing of lockdown restrictions.
The European benchmark of Brent sank to under 50 dollars on Sunday, a level not reached since July 2017.
They are currently due to remain in effect until March 2020 and could be extended until June.
The prevailing uncertainty in the oil market abetted by OPEC production cuts, the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela oil and other factors can snowball into an energy crunch and impact oil price, warned an industry expert.
The surprise declaration could make Qatar the first Middle East nation to leave the cartel since its founding in 1960.
With oil demand growth slowing, it's entirely possible that U.S. production alone will increase more than global demand in the next few years.
Trump in recent weeks demanded the oil cartel increase production to drive down U.S. gasoline prices.
The OPEC oil ministers began arriving in Vienna on Tuesday ahead of their official meeting Friday, which will also include discussions with Russia.
Russian and Saudi oil ministers came together to drive an extension of output cuts for another 12 months in line with market expectations.
Mohammed Saleh Al-Sada tells IBTimes UK that global crude demand remains healthy and the market is rebalancing.
Russia's participation is less than certain after Kremlin expresses concern about length of the proposed extension.
Having spent the last 10 years covering Opec, the IBTimes Business Editor provides a peek inside the 'central bank of oil'.
Crude futures slide on perceived uptick in US production and Russian reluctance to go along with cartel.