Oil Falls After Moscow Output Freeze Meeting in Doubt

March 10, 2016 Share Print 1

Oil prices extended losses on Thursday following a report a meeting between oil producers to discuss a global pact on freezing production is unlikely to take place in Russia on March 20.

Sources familiar with the matter say the meeting was likely to be scuttled, as OPEC member Iran is yet to say whether it would participate in such a deal.

“They are not agreeing on the meeting. Why would the ministers meet again now? Iran says they will not do anything,” said an OPEC source from a major producer. “Only if Iran agrees, things will change.”

OPEC officials including Nigeria’s oil minister have said a meeting would take place in Moscow on that date, potentially as the next step in widening an agreement to freeze output at January levels struck by OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar plus non-member Russia last month

Brent crude futures were at $40.43 per barrel at 9:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), down $1.04 from their last close, having earlier this week peaked at $41.48, the highest level since Dec. 9. U.S. crude was down 72 cents at $37.57 per barrel, having hit $38.51 on Tuesday, also its highest since Dec. 9.

via CNBC

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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.