Russia & OPEC reportedly agree on new oil production cuts to prop up global crude prices
by RT
Russia & OPEC reportedly agree on new oil production cuts to prop up global crude prices
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied oil exporters led by Russia have reportedly agreed to deepen production cuts and to reduce daily output by 500,000 barrels during their meeting in Vienna.
OPEC and other major oil producers, referred to as OPEC+, met on Friday to decide if the current cuts of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) are enough to boost the market.
Under the new deal the size of collective daily production cuts is set to be deepened to 1.7 million barrels, Bloomberg reported. OPEC states are likely to cover 340,000 bpd or around 60 percent of fresh curbs and allied non-OPEC producers an extra 160,000 bpd, CNBC reported, citing its sources. The group is set to confirm the deal later on Friday.
When OPEC held a smaller meeting on Thursday, the organization’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, called on more radical production cuts. The kingdom also reportedly threatened to boost oil production unilaterally if other signatories of the deal failed to adhere to the agreement.
Both global benchmarks Brent and WTI were down on Friday despite posting gains a day earlier. Brent was trading at $63.15 a barrel at 13:40pm GMT, while West Texas Intermediate fell to $58.00.
