Oil prices up after OPEC+ output cut decision

ANKARA

Oil prices increased on Monday following the OPEC+ decision to extend output cuts by a year, although renewed cease-fire hopes in Gaza could trigger downward price movements.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $81.23 per barrel at 10.25 a.m. local time (0725 GMT), a rise of 0.15% from the closing price of $81.11 per barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $77.11 per barrel at the same time, a 0.16% increase from the previous session that closed at $76.99 per barrel.

The OPEC+ decision to extend group-wide output cuts into 2025 contributed to price rises.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, met on Sunday to discuss the production output of member countries.

The group’s overall crude oil production in the Declaration of Cooperation will be around 39.72 million barrels per day (bpd) starting Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2025.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman met in person in Riyadh on the sidelines of the OPEC+ meeting.

The countries decided to prolong the additional voluntary cuts of 1.65 million bpd, announced in April 2023, until the end of December 2025.

Moreover, the countries agreed to extend their additional voluntary cuts of 2.2 million bpd, announced in November 2023, until the end of September 2024. However, the 2.2 million bpd cut will be gradually phased out monthly until the end of September 2025.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held separate phone calls on Sunday with two Israeli ministers to discuss the cease-fire proposal unveiled by President Joe Biden late last week.

Biden appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of his governing coalition who are opposed to the plan.

In a separate statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that in the call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Secretary "commended Israel's readiness to conclude a deal and affirmed that the onus is on Hamas to accept."

Hamas said it would "respond positively to any proposal that includes a permanent cease-fire, a full withdrawal (of Israeli forces) from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of the displaced, and the completion of a comprehensive hostage exchange deal."