05 December 2018: Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, in an interview with Bloomberg made clear that any cuts to OPEC+ oil supply would need to be agreed by all of the members of the group, including non-OPEC allies such as Russia and Kazakhstan. His comments put a somewhat downbeat tone on market sentiment which had previously strengthened following news of an agreement between Russian President Vladmir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Al-Falih clarified that the output cuts had only been agreed “in principle”, also making no guarantees over the actual size of the cuts the bloc would agree to. The oil minister’s comments were also less conclusive than those made in Abu Dhabi last month when he said the group should consider a reduction of up to 1 million bpd. Saudi Arabia has been under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce oil prices, a situation which complicates any potential output cut and reduces the upside for oil prices. 

Reporting for EasyKobo on Wednesday , 05 December 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria

Source: Vetiva Capital Management Limited