Oil Price Steadies After Putin Calls For Production Cap
Oil prices stabilised this morning after the intervention of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has helped alleviate what had been a grim picture for the week ahead.
In London, Brent crude rose 0.7 per cent to $45.76 this morning, while in the US, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.6 per cent to $43.40.
The boost, after three days of falling prices, came after investors were encouraged by remarks Putin made this morning. He called on producers to agree to limit output when they gather at the International Energy Forum later this month.
Russia will be at the forum in Algeria and is expected to join the Opec nations on the sidelines for informal talks on capping production. An oversupply of the commodity has caused prices to plunge over the past two years.
A similar initiative failed in April, reports the Wall Street Journal, when regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran failed to see eye-to-eye. Iran’s return to the oil market after sanctions were lifted earlier this year has increased world output.
Before Putin’s intervention, MarketWatch warned that the commodity was facing its worst week since January and that September would be a difficult month as this is when refiners start their seasonal maintenance.
