Opec nears output cut deal

Opec and non-member oil producers have moved closer to clinching a deal on extending output cuts by nine months to clear a global stocks overhang and prop up the price of crude.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna tomorrow to consider whether to prolong the accord reached in December in which Opec and 11 non-members agreed to cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017.

The market sees an extension by nine months as the base-case scenario since Opec’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia and top non-member Russia said they favoured such a move. Saudi ally Kuwait has signalled Opec could discuss deepening the cuts, in what would come as a positive surprise for market bulls, but hopes faded after a key committee recommended keeping the curbs unchanged.