New York/London — Oil is back above $50 a barrel in New York for the first time in May on growing confidence that Opec will maintain its efforts to diminish a global glut. Futures advanced as much as a 1.8% in New York, heading for the biggest weekly gain since March. Oil cartel Opec and its allies will probably prolong their agreement at least until the end of the year, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts this week. Most members support a proposal by Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend supply cuts for nine months, Algerian energy minister Noureddine Boutarfa said Thursday. Opec and its partners will meet on May 25 in Vienna to decide whether to prolong their supply cuts past June. Several members have voiced support for the proposal to extend curbs after Russia and Saudi Arabia said global inventories haven’t yet fallen to targeted levels. Meanwhile, production in the US has been increasing, threatening to derail the group’s goal. "The focus is intensifying on what Opec will ...
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