Saudi Arabia Ponders If Production Cut Is The Only Option

Saudi Arabia is coming under increasing pressure to implement oil production cuts.

Last week Russia and Saudi Arabia announced a provisional plan to freeze oil production levels if other major producers went along. But by late in the week, with Iran balking as expected, both the Russians and Saudis were walking the deal back, with the Saudis categorically rejecting production cuts and the Russians averring that a ‘freeze’ actually allowed Russia to increase output.

To all appearances, the Saudis had not thought the matter through and were now sawing the branch off behind the Russians, who were in turn fleeing the scene. The freeze proposal had disintegrated into total chaos, with the Saudis clearly having blundered.

To repair fences—or at least provide clarification—Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi is scheduled to address attendees of IHS CERAWeek in Houston on Tuesday. The minister, who is considered the most influential policymaker in the industry, will face U.S. shale industry producers who have been devastated by the oil price plunge.

via CNBC

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.