Brent Near $50 after OPEC Production Cut Announcement

Global oil prices steadied on Monday as market players weighed last week’s news of a planned OPEC production cut with doubts over its implementation and effectiveness at wiping out a crude supply overhang.

December Brent crude futures remained above $50 a barrel in European trading but by 1400 GMT were flat on the day at $50.19 a barrel, after erasing earlier slight gains. U.S. crude futures were $48.23 a barrel, a cent lower.



Europe and Asia’s largest markets, Germany and China, were both shut for public holidays on Monday, limiting trade.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said last week it would cut output to between 32.5 million barrels per day (bpd) and 33.0 million bpd from about 33.5 million bpd, with details to be finalised at its policy meeting in November.

Brent crude oil prices, most sensitive to any OPEC deal, have climbed more than 8 percent since the planned cuts were announced on Wednesday despite scepticism over the effectiveness of the deal in eroding the global surplus.

“Naysayers will undoubtedly fade the headline (of the output cut) and deem the agreement typical OPEC noise, yet at a minimum it means that OPEC has bought themselves a price floor for at least the next two months heading into the November meeting,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a note.

via Reuters

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

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