LONDON:

Oil prices were little changed on Monday, a day after the widely expected extension of voluntary output cuts through the middle of the year by the OPEC+ producer group.

Brent futures were up19 cents to $83.74 a barrelat 1422 GMT after rising 2.4% last week. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 6 cents to $80.03 a barrel following a 4.6% gain last week.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) are extending their voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) into the second quarter to cushion the market amid global economic concerns and rising output outside the group.

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Oil gains on potential OPEC+ cuts

As market expectations for a rollover had grown more apparent recently, the extension may have been increasingly priced in, said Walt Chancellor, an energy strategist at Macquarie.

“With OPEC loadings appearing steady and aggregate OPEC supply potentially showing little effect from incremental voluntary cuts implemented in Q1, we do not view the extensions from the broader group as particularly impactful.”

Still, Russia’s announcement to cut its oil output and exports by an additional 471,000 bpd in the second quarter surprised some analysts.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2024.

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