Oil prices rose on news that OPEC and its allies were considering production cuts next year, responding to recent increases in crude inventories amid surging U.S. supply, Bloomberg reports.
Futures in New York gained 0.6%. Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries gathering in Abu Dhabi this weekend will discuss options for 2019 including the scenario of supply curbs, delegates said.
That would mark an abrupt end to six months of output increases, reflecting the prospect that U.S. sanctions on Iran won’t be deep enough to prevent another surge of American shale oil creating a new surplus.
Supply concerns that drove crude to a four-year high last month have faded on speculation President Donald Trump’s administration will soften the blow of its sanctions on Iran to lower pump prices at home. OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, also pledged to offset any supply gaps, while the U.S. has forecast that its own oil output will continue increase at a record pace this year.
