Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih on Sunday said that the current cycle of falling crude prices is close to an end as market fundamentals improve. Oil prices are currently hovering at around USD 50 per barrel after hitting a 10-year low of less than USD 30 in January, down from a peak of more than USD 100 in mid-2014. “The current down cycle is nearing an end,” Falih told a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak after a Gulf ministerial meeting in Riyadh. OPEC has invited Russia and key non-members to a meeting later this month as the cartel and Moscow seek to tighten cooperation to boost historically low crude prices. The cartel and Russia will meet on Monday, ahead of the OPEC technical meeting in Vienna on October 28-29, to which Russia and others have been invited.

Source: Hindustan Times October 24, 2016 04:18 UTC