Crude oil prices surged after Saudi Arabia and other members of the Opec+ group announced surprise production cuts of more than 1mn barrels a day on Sunday, putting Riyadh on a collision course with the US.
Oil prices leapt by 8 per cent when trading opened in Asia on Monday morning following news of the cut, with international benchmark Brent trading at over $86 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, rising to almost $81.
Saudi Arabia will implement a “voluntary cut” of 500,000 b/d, or just under 5 per cent of its output, in “co-ordination with some other Opec and non-Opec countries”, the cartel said on Sunday.
Read more about the Opec+ decision here.
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