Iran To Agree with Saudi at OPEC Meeting

Iran’s oil minister said his nation’s oil market position is close to that of Saudi Arabia with less than 24 hours to go until OPEC nations meet in Vienna to formulate a response to tumbling crude prices.

“I met minister Naimi and we will continue our discussion,” Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the Persian Gulf state’s oil minister said in the Austrian capital today, talking after discussions with Ali Al-Naimi, his Saudi counterpart. “It is very important for us to have unity inside OPEC. We didn’t discuss only about the cut, but we discussed the market situation and our position is close to each other.”

Al-Naimi said earlier today crude prices that plunged by a third since June will stabilize while Zanganeh told reporters Iran wouldn’t request an output cut by Saudi Arabia at today’s meeting. The U.A.E.’s energy minister said he’s confident the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will take the right decision to balance the market.

“The Saudis and Iranians have a common position in that they need higher oil prices to balance their budget,” Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA, said by phone from London. “There isn’t much the Iranians can do to influence Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have the most leverage in OPEC, and it is clear any significant supply cuts will have to come from the Gulf states.”

Brent crude fell 1 percent to $77.58 a barrel in London. It’s declined 33 percent since June 19.

via Bloomberg

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza