Oil prices surge, markets narrow odds on Fed hike – Reuters

Oil prices surge, markets narrow odds on Fed hike – Reuters

SYDNEY, April 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices surged on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers announced a surprise round of output cuts, a potentially ominous sign for global inflation just days after a slowdown in U.S. price data had boosted market optimism.

Brent oil futures jumped $5.16 to $85.05 a barrel on news output would be cut by around 1.16 million barrels per day, while U.S. crude climbed $4.88 to $80.55.

The change comes before a virtual meeting of an OPEC+ ministerial panel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, and which had been expected to stick to 2 million bpd of cuts already in place until the end of 2023.