Oil steady as fears of imminent OPEC+ output cut fade

Oil steady as fears of imminent OPEC+ output cut fade

Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as the market grappled with supply concerns amid the sanctioning of Russian shipments and the initial shock of comments that major producers would cut output wore off.

Brent crude futures for October settlement were down 6 cents, or 0.06%, to $100.16 a barrel by 0720 GMT, after rising 3.9% on Tuesday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery were up 9 cents, or 0.1%, at $93.83 a barrel, having jumped 3.7% the previous day.

Both contracts soared after the energy minister of Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), flagged the possibility the group would cut supply to balance a market he described as "schizophrenic", with the paper and physical markets becoming increasingly disconnected.

"While Abdulaziz bin Salman's comment may have achieved more than putting a floor under crude prices, we expect it to follow the law of diminishing returns, unless it is followed up by more signals or action from OPEC+ to restrain output," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.

With OPEC+ already delivering about 2.8 million barrels-per-day less than its monthly target, the maths of cutting production is going to be more