Opec and its oil producing allies reached an agreement to cut production by 1.2m barrels a day, defying Donald Trump’s calls to keep output high and sending crude prices rocketing 5 per cent higher. One delegate said the 1.2m b/d cut would be split 800,000 b/d for Opec members and 400,000 for countries outside the cartel, which have allied with Opec since 2016. “We will be ready to come to a mutual understanding.”The move to cut output will go against demands from Mr Trump, who has described falling oil prices as a “tax cut” for the world and called on producers, including Saudi Arabia, to maintain high levels of output. “Surprisingly, they seem to be aiming for 1.2m barrels a day, which is larger than what we’ve been hearing in the last two days,” said Ann-Louise Hittle at consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Yet Washington’s decision in November to issue waivers to many buyers of Iranian oil has meant output from global producers, including the US, has overwhelmed demand.

Source: The Irish Times December 07, 2018 17:03 UTC