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Oil soars to one-year high on Putin output cap comment

MOSCOW, October 10, 2016

Oil rose to one-year high after Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Monday that his country was ready to join Opec efforts to stem the decline in crude prices through a output cap, said a report.

Speaking at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul, Putin said he hoped the producers’ group would decide at its next ministerial meeting in November to adopt quotas for member countries’ output, reported The Financial Times.

Last month, Opec countries reached an agreement in Algiers to curb production to between 32.5m and 33m barrels a day. But details for a binding deal to reduce supply, which would be the first since the financial crisis, still need to be finalised.

Putin said the fall in prices by more than 50 per cent since mid-2014 had triggered the longest period of investment decline in 45 years. The drop in funding into future production could lead to “unpredictable jumps” in prices, he added.

“That’s why in the current situation we think that [an oil output] freeze or even an oil production cut is likely to be the only right decision to maintain the stability of the global energy sector,” said Putin.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, increased as much as $1.47 to $53.50 a barrel after Putin’s remarks. This is the highest level since October 9 last year.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih said earlier in the day that he was optimistic a deal would be struck, but any Opec output curbs should not be too severe.

“Opec needs to make sure we don’t crimp too tightly and create a shock to the market,” he added.

Falih pointed ourt the current supply and demand picture was still unclear, so Opec should not cut production more than was necessary. “We don’t want to give the market the wrong signal,” he added.

The energy ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia, which together produce more than a fifth of the world’s crude, said at the G20 summit in China last month that they could limit output while establishing a “working group” to explore other ways to reduce volatility in markets.




Tags: Saudi | Putin | Oil | Output |

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