Crude oil gains after Saudi Arabia says OPEC+ may cut production to stabilise market, arrest price slide

Oil rose toward $91 a barrel after Saudi Arabia said OPEC+ may be forced to cut production to stabilize a volatile market. “Extreme” volatility and a lack of liquidity means the futures market is increasingly disconnected from fundamentals, Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg. That spurred a choppy session on Monday that saw West Texas Intermediate slump almost 5% before closing steady.

Oil has seen a tumultuous period of trading since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February upended trade flows. OPEC+ has reversed all of the output cuts made during the pandemic, but Prince Abdulaziz said the cartel may need to tighten production when it meets next month to discuss supply targets.

Futures have lost about a quarter since early June as escalating fears of an economic slowdown threatened the demand outlook. The potential revival of a nuclear deal with Iran, which could lead to a surge in crude exports from the OPEC producer, has also added to the bearish sentiment recently.

Crude Oil PricesWTI for October delivery rose 0.4% to $90.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:05 a.m. in Singapore.Brent for October settlement gained 0.3% to $96.81 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

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