AFP, BSS :
World oil prices briefly sank by two dollars on Thursday after OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia appeared to rule out deep production cuts at a meeting of the cartel.
Crude futures later clawed back ground as traders awaited the conclusion of the latest gathering of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna.
“Oil traders reacted to a well-telegraphed nine-month extension to the current output cuts from OPEC by taking profits,” said market analyst Jasper Lawler.
Riyadh’s oil minister Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia expects the likely extension of the current deal cutting output to ease the global crude glut sufficiently by early 2018.
“Comments from the Saudi oil minister that a nine-month extension is the ‘safe bet’, and that deeper cuts were not necessary, caused a near panic reaction this morning with Brent oil dropping almost $2 in the minutes that followed,” said analyst David Cheetham at brokerage XTB.
World oil prices briefly sank by two dollars on Thursday after OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia appeared to rule out deep production cuts at a meeting of the cartel.
Crude futures later clawed back ground as traders awaited the conclusion of the latest gathering of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna.
“Oil traders reacted to a well-telegraphed nine-month extension to the current output cuts from OPEC by taking profits,” said market analyst Jasper Lawler.
Riyadh’s oil minister Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia expects the likely extension of the current deal cutting output to ease the global crude glut sufficiently by early 2018.
“Comments from the Saudi oil minister that a nine-month extension is the ‘safe bet’, and that deeper cuts were not necessary, caused a near panic reaction this morning with Brent oil dropping almost $2 in the minutes that followed,” said analyst David Cheetham at brokerage XTB.
