Oil rises, Brent at $97

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices edged higher today, Aug. 23, with Brent crude at $97 a barrel following statements from Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister.

International benchmark Brent crude rose 0.58% to $97.04 per barrel, at 9:01 am Makkah time.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.71% to $91.01 a barrel.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman pointed out that OPEC+ has the commitment, the flexibility, and the means within the existing mechanisms of the Declaration of Cooperation to deal with challenges, including cutting production at any time and in different forms.

Meanwhile, Iran accused the United States, on Aug. 22, of procrastinating in efforts to revive the 2015 Tehran nuclear agreement – a claim which Washington denied, Reuters reported.