Dubai
The price of crude oil jumped on Monday as hopes rose that OPEC+ would strike a deal to curtail extra supply until well into next year. Energy ministers from the alliance of exporters led by Saudi Arabia and Russia meet on Tuesday to monitor markets and output levels, amid speculation that a production increase of 2 million barrels per day in January would be delayed for at least three months, and perhaps as long as six months. Brent crude leapt 4 percent to nearly $45 per barrel. “It looks as though a significant ‘tweak’ is a distant possibility,” said one oil official, in a reference to comments by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman that the Kingdom and other OPEC+ members would be flexible on the timing of the new output level. Compliance with the historic cuts announced in April is running at more than 100 per cent for a third consecutive month.—AN
