Oil Prices Rise as Russia Might Reduce Crude Output

November 30, 2018

Investing.com – Oil prices inched up Friday morning in Asia as major producer Russia reportedly agreed on the need to slash output ahead of an OPEC meeting next week in Vienna.

Crude Oil WTI Futures for January delivery rose 0.41% to $51.66 per barrel at 12:04PM ET (04:04 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent OilFuture for February delivery edged up 0.57% to $60.25 a barrel on London’s Intercontinental Exchange.

Russia might be changing its wait-and-see approach and be ready to join Saudi Arabia to cut crude output, Reuters reported. The two countries will meet with other OPEC members in Austria on Dec. 6-7 to reach a decision on output for the next six months. The kingdom has proposed cutting output by 1 million to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to avoid excessive supply.

“The idea at the meeting was that Russia needs to reduce. The key question is how quickly and by how much,” said a source quoted by Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet with Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Argentina at the G20 summit. Reuters reported that Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was in touch with the OPEC but it would be satisfied with an oil price of $60 a barrel, while the kingdom’s energy minister also said it will not slash oil output on its own.