Opec+ ministers called off oil output talks on Monday after clashing last week when the United Arab Emirates balked at a proposed eight-month extension to output curbs, meaning no deal to boost production has been reached.

Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Sunday called for “compromise and rationality” to secure a deal after two days of failed discussions last week. But on Monday, four Opec+ sources said there had been no progress and talks were called off, without a new date being set.

The failure to agree on Monday means an expected increase in oil output from August will not take place, the sources said, helping to drive up the price of benchmark Brent crude, which was trading around 1 per cent higher at close to $77 a barrel.

Oil prices are at the highest since 2018 and have already prompted concerns that inflation could derail a global recovery from the pandemic.

Opec+ agreed on record output cuts of almost 10 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, about 10 per cent of world output, as the pandemic hit. They have been gradually relaxed and stand at about 5.8 million bpd.

The UAE, sources said, on Friday accepted a proposal from Saudi Arabia and other Opec+ members to raise output in stages by about 2 million bpd from August to December but rejected extending remaining cuts to the end of 2022 from a current end date of April.

The UAE is upset about the baseline from which its production cuts are being calculated and wants it raised.