Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to extend crude oil output cuts until March 2018 in their latest effort to rebalance the global crude market, energy ministers for the two major oil producers said on Monday. News of the joint deal sent crude prices up more than 1.5% in Asian trading. Major producers have been forced to consider lengthening the cuts as crude futures have languished around $50 per barrel as markets remain well supplied even after the current deal. Russia is the world’s biggest oil producer, while Saudi Arabia is the biggest exporter. Together, they control around 20 million bpd in daily output, equivalent to a fifth of daily global consumption.

Source: Hindustan Times May 15, 2017 03:45 UTC