Oil Gains as Saudis Extend Million-Barrel Cut, May Go Deeper

Oil rose after Saudi Arabia prolonged its unilateral oil production cut by another month and said there could be more to come.

(Bloomberg) — Oil rose after Saudi Arabia prolonged its unilateral oil production cut by another month and said there could be more to come.

West Texas Intermediate jumped as much as 2% after the announcement on state-run Saudi Press Agency that the OPEC+ leader’s cutback of 1 million barrels a day would be extended into September. 

Crude rallied last month, with WTI erasing year-to-date losses, after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies cut production. The surge had lifted prices to the highest since April, spurring concerns there could be a pullback after such a rapid gain. Oil dropped on Wednesday following a downgrade of US credit by Fitch Ratings that hurt wider market sentiment.

The voluntary cut by Saudi Arabia will leave September output at about 9 million barrels a day and “can be extended, or extended and deepened,” acccording to the statement. 

On Friday, the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee is due to hold an online review of the market to gauge the impact of the supply reductions.

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–With assistance from Yongchang Chin.

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