'We are taking it easy,' Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih responded to Trump's tweet that said OPEC should 'relax.'
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC is taking a measured approach to supply cuts, directly responding to comments from President Donald Trump earlier in the week telling the oil producing body to"relax." "We are taking it easy," he told CNBC's Dan Murphy while at an OPEC symposium in Riyadh, when asked about the U.S. president's tweet. "The 25 countries are taking a very slow and measured approach.
OPEC plus, which refers to OPEC and a collection of non-OPEC oil producers working in tandem with the organization, agreed on output cuts totaling 1.2 million barrels per day in order to stem a sinking market and support their own export-dependent economies. The move riled Trump, who wants to keep oil prices low.
Much speculation has surrounded whether OPEC plus will decide on deeper production cuts when OPEC members meet again in April. But December's production agreement is meant to last until June, by which time al-Falih said an extension of the deal is likely. "We remain flexible, I am leaning toward the likelihood of an extension in the second half , but that's not automatic," he said.
The jury is out on the trajectory for oil prices in 2019, with many market watchers forecasting the commodity will be pulled down by slowing global growth and demand. Uncertainty from Venezuela and sanctions on Iran are factors that could support prices, depending on the scope of sanctions and waivers from Washington on Tehran and Caracas and on political developments in Latin America.
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