OPEC producers announce voluntary oil output cuts

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers have announced further oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital and main financial hub, said it would cut output by 500,000 barrels per day, or bdp, from May until the end of 2023, state media reported.  Russia’s deputy prime minister also said Moscow would extend a voluntary cut of 500,000 barrels a day until the end of 2023. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Algeria said they would voluntarily cut output over the same time period. The UAE said it would cut production by 144,000 bpd, Kuwait announced a cut of 128,000 bpd while Iraq said it would cut output by 211,000 bpd and Oman announced a cut of 40,000 bpd. Algeria said it would cut its output by 48,000 bpd.

In a statement, the Saudi energy ministry said that the kingdom’s voluntary cut was a precautionary measure aimed at supporting the stability of the oil market.

This is expected to cause an immediate rise in prices for the open. West Texas Intermediate, WTI, crude oil rose to the highest in three weeks on Friday touching $75.68 as a high in the spot market.