Oil extends decline as Saudi Arabia, Iran resist production cuts

London

OIL extended declines after oil ministers from Iran and Saudi Arabia signalled they're unwilling to curtail production. Also pressuring prices, the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, said on Tuesday crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels last week, far exceeding expectations of a 3.4-million-barrel rise.

Futures slid as much as 3.7 per cent in New York. Saudi Arabia won't cut supply as it doesn't trust fellow exporters to follow suit and believes high-cost producers should bear the burden of rebalancing markets, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister, Ali al-Naimi, said on Tuesday. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said a Saudi-Russia proposal to freeze output was "ridiculous" since Iran seeks to boost exports after years of sanctions, according to his ministry's news agency, Shana.