Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries

In a move set to reverberate through global markets and geopolitical dynamics, the United States has announced the renewal of sanctions against Venezuela, citing unmet political commitments by President Nicolás Maduro. This decision comes amid escalating tensions between the two nations and holds significant implications for Venezuela, a key player in the international oil arena.

Oil prices have surged due to renewed concerns about the Middle East conflict. Brent crude futures increased by 0.32% to 90.80 USD per barrel, while American WTI crude rose by 0.3% to 86.50 USD per barrel. This comes amid fears of an Iranian strike on Israel following verbal threats by Iran in response to an Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria.

Moscow, Riyadh and several other OPEC+ members on Sunday announced extensions to oil production cuts first announced in 2023 as part of an agreement among oil producers to boost prices following economic uncertainty.

Day 652 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices.

The dual announcements from Riyadh and Moscow pushed benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel in trading yesterday, a price unseen in the market since November.

Saudi Arabia said yesterday it was extending a voluntary oil production cut of one million barrels per day, and Russia said it was slashing exports by 500,000 bpd.

The moves were the latest attempts by major producers to stabilize markets rocked by factors including continued fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China's faltering economic recovery.

Riyadh on June 4 announced a fresh oil output cut following a meeting of major producers aiming to prop up prices despite fears of a recession.

The meeting of the 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headed by Saudi Arabia and its 10 partners, led by Russia, saw some tough negotiations.

Oil prices fell nearly 1 percent in early European trade, erasing yesterday's gains on concerns about the viability of the bipartisan US debt ceiling deal and mixed messages from top oil producers ahead of the OPEC+ meeting later in the week.

Oil prices continued to fall during trading on Thursday, hitting three-week lows on concerns that rising interest rates policies by leading central banks could limit global economic growth and fuel consumption going forward.

At the same time, the dollar has appreciated in the foreign exchange market, with its strengthening making oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies.

Global oil prices rose after several leading producers, led by Saudi Arabia, surprisingly announced production cuts, AFP reported.

Crude futures rose nearly eight percent, a day after several OPEC+ members unexpectedly announced production cuts totaling more than one million barrels per day.