The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to increase its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels a day for May, a modest rise that will mostly be symbolic as its key members cannot boost production due to the conflict with Iran. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe notes that the war has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since late February and halted exports from OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, the only countries in the group that could significantly increase production even before the conflict started. Crude prices have surged to a four-year high close to $120 (U.S.) a barrel, translating into soaring prices for transport fuels which are pressuring consumers and businesses across the globe, and triggering government action to conserve supplies. The OPEC+ quota increase of 206,000 b/d represents less than 2 per cent of the supply disrupted by the Hormuz closure, but it signals readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens, OPEC+ sources have said. Consultancy Energy Aspects called the increase "academic" as long as disruptions in the strait persist. JPMorgan sees oil price exceeding $150 (U.S.) if the strait stays closed into mid-May.