Saudi Arabia reduced the official selling price of its flagship crude by $0.50 per barrel for Asian buyers in January.
This is the first price reduction in seven months, although it is a smaller reduction than analysts had expected.
The move was in response to intensified international competition after OPEC production cuts pushed Middle Eastern oil prices higher.
Novak: “The timely actions of OPEC+, thanks to which about 2.2 million barrels per day will be held off the market in the first quarter of next year, will allow the period of low demand to pass painlessly in the first quarter of 2024,”.
The EIA reported last week that average daily production in September had remained unchanged from August when it hit the record-high rate of 13.24 million barrels.
SINGAPORE, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Oil prices held steady on Tuesday amid uncertainty over voluntary output cuts by OPEC+ and as continued tension in the Middle East spurred supply concern.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 edged up 13 cents to $78.16 a barrel by 0106 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 18 cents at $73.22 a barrel.
he only price-swing element in the OPEC+ oil supply cuts was a collective reduction of 696,000 bpd of crude oil from other members besides Saudi and Russian output cut rollovers.
Part of the reason oil prices went lower rather than higher last week despite the OPEC+ announcement was the suspicion that some of the cuts will remain so only on paper.
The market’s reaction to the OPEC+ voluntary cuts announcement was a further decline in oil prices.
Brent crude futures were down 0.9%, or 73 cents, to US$78.15 a barrel by 0735 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at US$73.43 a barrel, down 0.8%, or 64 cents
A recent investigation by the Centre for Climate Reporting and Channel 4 News showed Saudi officials saying they were trying to artificially increase oil demand in some markets
The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 3 this week after rising by 4 last week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published Friday.