Oil price rises to 11-month high as Saudi Arabia cuts production

Muscat: Oil prices have rose to an 11-month high after Saudi Arabia pledged to cut production, Oman News Agency (ONA) said on Wednesday. 

A statement issued online ONA said, "Oil prices, on Wednesday, rose to the highest level since February 2020 after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to cut production more than expected in a meeting with its allies from oil producers, while data for the sector shows that US crude inventories decreased last week.”

The statement completed, ”Brent crude rose about 1 percent to $54.09 a barrel, the highest level since February 26, 2020. Brent registered $53.87 a barrel, after jumping 4.9 percent.”

The statement said also that the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures reached $50.24 a barrel, which is also the highest since February 26, 2020. The contract closed up 4.6 percent yesterday.

The statement confirmed that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude producer, agreed yesterday to implement voluntary additional cuts of one million barrels per day in February and March after a meeting of the OPEC + group.

“On the other hand, American Petroleum Institute data showed late yesterday evening that US crude inventories decreased by 1.7 million barrels in the week ending in January 1, to 491.3 million barrels,” the statement added.