NEWS

OPEC Ends Meeting, Delays Output Cut Decision

OPEC and allied exporting countries ended a meeting on Thursday without announcing a decision to cut crude output, and prepared to debate the matter the next day, Reuters reports.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) met in Vienna to decide production policy in coordination with other countries including Russia, Oman and Kazakhstan.

An OPEC delegate said the organization had agreed on a tentative deal to cut oil output but had not come up with a final figure, according to Reuters.

Earlier, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC needed Russia to cooperate, and said a decision was likely by Friday evening.

“If everybody is not willing to join and contribute equally, we will wait until they are,” al-Falih said.

Market watchers had expected a joint cut of 1 million to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd).

Brent crude futures were down $2.57, or 4.2 percent, on the day to $58.99 a barrel by 11:41 EST (1641 GMT), off the session low of $58.36. U.S. crude futures fell $2.37, or 4.5 percent, to $50.52 a barrel, bouncing off the session low of $50.08 a barrel.

The crude benchmarks have slumped about 30 percent this quarter.

Prices found support briefly after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles declined last week for the first time in 11 weeks. The United States became a net exporter of crude and refined products for the first time since at least 1991, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed.

“Fears of a further escalation in the US-China trade war, and potential for OPEC+ not cutting oil production deep enough will continue to weigh on oil prices in today’s trading session,” said Abhishek Kumar, Senior Energy Analyst at Interfax Energy in London.

“All eyes are now fixated on tomorrow’s OPEC+ joint declaration, and a combined output cut of at least 1 million barrels per day will be required to see a meaningful recovery in oil prices,” Kumar told Reuters.

Led by Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s crude oil production has risen by 4.1 percent since mid-2018, to 33.31 million bpd.

Poll
Will private management of Nigeria's refineries be a success story?

Subscribe To Newsletter

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most Popular

To Top