Oil settles lower as Russia downplays additional OPEC+ cuts
Reuters
Published May 24, 2023 08:46PM ET
Updated May 25, 2023 03:12PM ET
By Laura Sanicola
(Reuters) - Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak played down the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts at its meeting next week.
Brent crude futures settled down $2.10, or 2.7%, to $76.25 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled down $2.51, or 3.4%, to $71.83. At their session low, both benchmarks were down by more than $3.
Oil prices began falling after Novak was quoted saying he did not think additional OPEC+ cuts were likely.
"I don't think that there will be any new steps, because just a month ago certain decisions were made regarding the voluntary reduction of oil production by some countries..." Novak was quoted as saying by Izvestia newspaper.
In recent days, top OPEC+ producers have given a raft of conflicting messages about next oil policy moves, making it difficult to predict the outcome of the next meeting.
On Tuesday, oil prices were supported when Saudi Arabia's energy minister warned that short-sellers betting oil prices will fall should "watch out" for pain.
Some investors took that as a signal that OPEC+, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, could consider further output cuts at a meeting on June 4.
"It's now OPEC+ producers experiencing the 'ouch'," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
Just a week before Prince Abdulaziz's comment, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that oil production cuts were required to maintain a certain price level.
Losses were curbed later in the session by optimism that U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy appeared near a deal to cut spending and raise the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, with little time to spare to head off the risk of default.
The deal would specify the total amount the government could spend on discretionary programs like housing and education, according to a person familiar with the talks, but not break that down into individual categories. The two sides are just $70 billion apart on a total figure that would be well over $1 trillion, according to another source.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.