Brent oil rises after deal to cut supply, but 2019 outlook weakens

December 10, 2018

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude oil futures rose on Monday after producer club OPEC and some non-affiliated suppliers last Friday agreed to a supply cut from January.

Despite this, the price outlook for next year remains muted on the back of an economic slowdown.

International Brent crude oil futures were at $62.03 per barrel at 0748 GMT, up 36 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close.

Prices surged after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC producers including heavyweight Russia on Friday said they would cut oil supply by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), with an 800,000-bpd reduction planned by OPEC members and 400,000 bpd by countries not affiliated with the group.

The shutdown of the 315,000-bpd El Sharara oilfield in Libya also helped push up Brent, traders said.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were weaker, however, dropping 10 cents from their last settlement to $52.51 per barrel, weighed down by surging U.S. output as the booming American oil industry is not taking part in the announced cuts.

“The surge in U.S. supply in recent months should be a reason for caution,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC) said in a note on Monday.