Oil Prices Rally 5% As OPEC Cuts Production

Oil prices soared as much as 5% at the open after OPEC+ announced it was slashing output by 1.16 million barrels per day. Brent Crude jumped 5.5% at $84.44 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also rallied at 79.89 to a barrel. WTI crude oil is a specific grade of crude oil and one of the main three benchmarks in oil pricing, along with Brent and Dubai Crude.

Rising crude prices is not good news for the Indian economy, which is a major importer of Crude Oil. Indian stock markets which are rather sensitive to crude prices lost ground in trade.

Saudi Arabia itself cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from May until the end of 2023. The move would likely raise prices at the pump, further straining relations between Riyadh and Washington as the world copes with inflation fuelled in part by the war in Ukraine. The Saudi Energy Ministry said on Sunday that the cuts would be made in coordination with some OPEC and non-OPEC members, without naming them.

With inputs from pti