Offshore staff
NEW YORK– Oil fell nearly 3% in choppy trading on Thursday after OPEC and its allies ended a meeting without announcing a decision to cut crude output, according to a Reuters report.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries met in Vienna, Austria, to decide production policy in coordination with other countries including Russia, Oman, and Kazakhstan.
OPEC tentatively agreed to cut oil output but was waiting for a commitment from non-OPEC heavyweight Russia before deciding volumes.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak flew home from Vienna earlier for talks with President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg. Novak returns to Austria’s capital on Friday for discussions among Saudi-led OPEC and its allies.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC needed Russia to cooperate, and 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 reportedly said.
Market watchers had expected a joint cut of 1 MM to 1.4 MMb/d. The OPEC, non-OPEC meeting is set to start on Friday at 11:00 GMT.
“All eyes are now fixated on tomorrow’s OPEC+ joint declaration, and a combined output cut of at least 1 MMb/d will be required to see a meaningful recovery in oil prices,” Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy in London, was quoted as saying.
Brent crude futures fell $1.50, or 2.4%, to $60.06/bbl, after dropping to a session low of $58.36. US crude futures fell $1.40, or 2.7%, to $51.49, bouncing off a low of $50.08.
The benchmarks have slumped more than 25% so far this quarter, according to the report.
12/06/2018
