Should I brace myself for higher oil prices?

The March 4th OPEC+ meeting passed with more fanfare than is typically associated with the organization’s biannual summit. As is normal, OPEC countries, led by Saudi Arabia, met with key non-member states to discuss output changes. Abnormally, though, the February deep freeze in Texas has temporarily damaged U.S. energy production, resulting in roughly 4 million barrels per day of lost production and a surge in oil prices to levels not seen in 12 months.