Oil prices jump after Saudi Arabia vows to cut production again

Oil prices jump after Saudi Arabia vows to cut production again

At 5.30 a.m. ET, Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading up 2.3 percent at nearly $78 a barrel, while WTI, the US benchmark, rose 2.4 percent to $73.50. Gasoline futures were up 1.5 percent, but the average US pump price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was unchanged at $3.55.

The Saudi production cut was its biggest in years and will depress its output to nine million barrels per day. It came after a meeting Sunday in Vienna of the alliance known as OPEC+, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other smaller producers.

Homayoun Falakshahi, a senior oil analyst at data provider Kpler, said the supply curbs meant gas prices in Europe and the United States “could slightly rise, further impacting drivers” during the upcoming summer holiday season.

At the Vienna meeting, Riyadh also agreed to extend a production cut of 500,000 barrels per day — announced in April — through 2024. Reuters, citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, reported that Moscow would extend its own production cut of 500,000 barrels per day through to the end of next year.

Other members of OPEC+ would also continue to curb output until the end