Oil prices rise after extension of OPEC output deal

Oil futures rose on Friday after OPEC and allied non-members agreed the day before to extend production cuts in a widely expected move aimed at ending a global market glut.

Brent Crude on ICE ended the day 1.76 percent higher at $63.73, while WTI Crude (Nymex) was 1.67 percent higher at $58.36.

The cartel met in Vienna on Thursday with non-OPEC producers, led by Russia, and agreed to maintain output cuts until the end of 2018.

“There is 100 percent agreement that the market is on its way to full recovery, the fundamentals speak for themselves, inventories have been drawn down more than 50 percent of the target in 2017,” Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih said on the sidelines of the meeting.

The minister added that it is premature to talk about an exit just yet, at least for a couple of quarters due to the upcoming season of low winter demand.

“We are, however, entering a soft period of demand, December through first quarter, and therefore those inventory draws will slow down,” he said, adding that OPEC would examine progress of compliance at its next regular meeting in June.

The agreement, which includes 24 countries, cuts 1.8 million barrels a day (bpd) from the market to ease oversupply and bolster prices.

Write to Reem Abdellatif at reem.a@argaam.com