Trump calls on OPEC to 'relax,' says oil prices are too high

[February 25, 2019]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday expressed concern about oil prices and repeated his previous calls on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep prices steady.

President Donald Trump arrives for a signing ceremony for H.R. 2, the "Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018" in Washington, U.S., December 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Young

On Monday, oil prices edged up amid political uncertainty and sanctions and involuntary curbs on several producers but could face pressure from continued anxiety over the global economy and record U.S. exports.

"Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike - fragile!" Trump, whose administration has sanctioned crude from Iran and Venezuela, tweeted.

OPEC members and non-OPEC producers such as Russia are leading efforts to rebalance the market and support oil prices.

Trump, who has made the U.S. economy one of his top issues, has repeatedly tweeted about oil prices and OPEC, airing complaints about higher prices, including ahead of the organizations meeting in December.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Makini Brice)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.