Saudi output sends a 'splash, if not wave' across oil market
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This comes after oil prices rose on Monday as Saudi Arabia reduced output by a million barrels.
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An idle pump jack near Karnes City, USA, April 8, 2022 (AP)
Oil prices rose on Monday as Saudi Arabia reduced output by a million barrels to support prices, while fellow OPEC+ members agreed to extend current cuts until 2024.
Brent oil, the international benchmark, and WTI crude, the US equivalent, both gained more than 2%.
Asian and European markets rose mostly, with energy firms benefiting from stronger oil futures, which raised profit and revenue.
Tim Waterer a KCM Trade analyst also stated that the outcome of the meeting "created a splash in the oil market, if not a wave."
"Saudi Arabia has backed up their words with actions by going it alone and extending their supply cuts," he said.
Members of the OPEC+ group agreed on Sunday to cut oil outputs to 40.463 million barrels per day throughout 2024, the group said in a statement after a meeting in Vienna.
Saudi Arabia announced its own fresh reduction, bringing July output to nine million barrels per day.
Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told reporters that he "will do whatever is necessary to bring stability to this market."
OPEC+ countries are dealing with dropping oil prices due to expectations that demand would decline as major economies battle to contain rising inflation. Oil has fallen by approximately 10% since April when some OPEC+ members agreed to cut production by more than one million bpd voluntarily in an effort to stop losses.
Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya expressed that the Kingdom will "continue doing the heavy lifting of production cuts, hoping that its efforts will reverse the falling price trend."
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, stated the price jump was normal after the Saudi production cut.
"Regardless, macroeconomic data will continue to be the primary driver of speculative oil demand," he said.
Wall Street jumped on Friday as statistics indicated that the US economy added 339,000 jobs in May, significantly more than predicted, signaling that the employment market remained strong.
Wage growth has also slowed marginally, according to the survey.
Analysts said the "Goldilocks" figure – neither too wonderful nor too awful – meant the world's largest economy was not in danger of a recession and may yet allow the Fed to maintain policy stability.
Since early last year, the Fed has raised interest rates ten times in an attempt to curb excessive inflation driven primarily by energy costs.
In Asia, Hong Kong stocks extended Friday's gains, while Tokyo added more than 2% to reach a three-decade high.
As the morning continued, European equities lost pace, albeit London was supported by oil giants BP and Shell.
