Oil soars as Opec deal beats expectations
The cut size is a ‘positive surprise’ after yesterday’s deadlock, with Russia agreeing to join the accord
London — Oil surged by as much as 5.8% in London as Opec was said to agree on a larger-than-expected deal with its allies to reduce output. The producer alliance will collectively curb production by 1.2-million barrels a day, delegates from the Opec said after concluding a second day of meetings in Vienna on Friday. That was more than cuts of 1-million barrels a day that had been discussed earlier. Russia also agreed to join, according to one delegate. The breakthrough occurred after Opec failed to reach an agreement during meetings on Thursday and after uncertainty on Friday morning over agreeing to a deal at all. “Finally they got one, nobody really believed it after the morning hours,” Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said by phone. “It’s mainly due to the lowered expectations before the deal.” Oil had plunged by more than 30% earlier this month from a four-year high in October, as concern over excess supply was fueled by sanctions waivers given for some buyers of Iranian oil ...
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