Oil heads for sixth weekly gain after Saudis, Russia extend cuts
BNN Bloomberg
Oil headed for a sixth straight weekly gain, the longest winning streak in more than a year, after OPEC+ heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia extended production cuts into next month and US stockpiles sank by a record.
West Texas Intermediate traded around US$82 a barrel, taking gains over the six-week span to about 18 per cent. Saudi Arabia said Thursday it would extend its unilateral 1 million barrel a day oil output cut into September, and that the move could be prolonged further or even deepened. Russia will also extend its cut into next month, although it tapered the size of the reduction.
The conflict in Ukraine was also in focus after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium said that Russian authorities temporarily closed Novorossiysk port for marine traffic after a drone attack. Still, oil loadings on moored tankers continued, and there has been no damage to CPC infrastructure, it said.
Futures in New York have now risen in the year to date, amid the rally driven by the leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. An OPEC+ committee is due to review the market on Friday.
