Oil prices rise as Saudi Arabia announces further voluntary cuts

London: Oil-producing countries have agreed to continued cuts in production in a bid to shore up flagging prices, the media reported on Monday.

Saudi Arabia said it would make cuts of a million barrels per day (bpd) in July and OPEC+ said targets would drop by a further 1.4 million bpd from 2024, reports the BBC.

OPEC+ accounts for around 40 per cent of the world’s crude oil and its decisions can have a major impact on oil prices.

In Asia trade on Monday, Brent crude oil rose by as much as 2.4 per cent before settling at around $77 a barrel.

The seven hour-long meeting on Sunday of the oil-rich nations, led by Russia, came against a backdrop of falling energy prices.

Total production cuts, which OPEC+ has undertaken since October 2022, reached 3.66 million bpd, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the BBC reported.

OPEC+, a formulation which refers to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, had already agreed to cut production by two million bpd, about 2 per cent of global demand.

“The result of the discussions was the extension of the deal until the end of 2024,” Novak said.

In April, it also agreed a surprise voluntary cut of 1.6 million bpd which took effect in May, a move that briefly saw an increase in prices but failed to bring about a lasting recovery.

On Sunday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the cut of one million bpd could be extended beyond July if needed, the BBC reported.

“This is a Saudi lollipop,” he said, in what is seen as a bid to stabilise the market.

(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)