Oil prices fall after Opec agrees to increase output limit
[LONDON] Oil prices fell on Friday after sources said Opec had agreed to roll over its policy of maintaining crude production in order to retain market share and raise its output ceiling.
Brent crude futures were last down 47 cents on the day at $43.37 barrel by 1459 GMT, compared with around $44.69 shortly before the decision came out.
US crude futures were down 66 cents on the day at $40.44 a barrel, having traded around $41.76 ahead of the decision.
Opec had been widely expected to stick with its year-old policy, despite pressure from poorer members of the cartel for a cut in output to prop up the price of oil.
Opec sources said it had agreed to raise its output ceiling to 31.5 million bpd at its meeting in Vienna, in what appeared to be an effective acknowledgement of existing production. "Overall, it looks like business as usual. The production cut needs to come from outside Opec, so attention turning back to US producers," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Energy & Commodities
Anglo rejects BHP takeover bid as significantly undervalued
India rice prices at three-month low on shrinking demand
Gold prices set for weekly decline ahead of US inflation data
Pricey coffee is here to stay as hoarding, heat hit Vietnam supply
Oil settles higher as weak US economic growth offset by supply concerns
India's Vedanta misses Q4 profit estimates on lower prices