# Oil holds steady near four-month high on OPEC+ cuts Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2023-08-07 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: Oil Prices Hold Steady Near Four-Month High Amid OPEC+ Cuts Meta Description: Stay updated on the latest oil market trends and news as top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia pledge to keep supplies down, tightening global markets. URL: https://financedigest.com/oil-holds-steady-near-four-month-high-on-opec-cutshtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-08-07t002958z1lynxmpej76009rtroptp4global-oil-1736813692539-compressed.jpg) # Oil holds steady near four-month high on OPEC+ cuts By Florence Tan and Emily Chow SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices edged down on Monday, but were still near their highest levels since mid-April after top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to keep supplies down for another month to tighten global markets further and support prices. Brent crude futures slipped 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $86.14 a barrel by 0420 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $82.73 a barrel, down 9 cents, or 0.1%. Both contracts notched their sixth consecutive weekly gains last week, the longest [winning streak](https://www.financedigest.com/ftse-100-snaps-four-day-winning-streak-as-britains-ocado-slumps.html "FTSE 100 snaps four-day winning streak as Britain’s Ocado slumps") since December 2021 to January 2022. The bullishness is in line with our expectations of a stronger second half for oil compared to the first half,” said Suvro Sarkar, lead [energy analyst at DBS Bank](https://www.financedigest.com/bank-of-england-publishes-rules-for-energy-firms-liquidity-tool.html "Bank of England publishes rules for energy firms’ liquidity tool"). But we think further upside may be limited and [oil prices](https://www.financedigest.com/oil-prices-wobble-on-worries-over-china-economy-us-rate-path.html "Oil prices wobble on worries over China economy, US rate path") could consolidate around the $85 a barrel level (Brent) for a while, capped by ongoing concerns about the pace of China’s recovery and doubts about how long Saudi and Russia will continue to curb production and exports, respectively, given the spare capacity on hand. [Oil prices have in recent weeks](https://www.financedigest.com/oil-prices-head-for-fourth-weekly-drop-as-demand-fears-weigh.html "Oil prices head for fourth weekly drop as demand fears weigh") been underpinned by expectations of U.S. interest rate hikes tapering off, a reduction in OPEC+ supplies and hopes of stimulus boosting oil demand recovery in the [world’s top crude importer China](https://www.financedigest.com/world-shares-rally-as-china-offers-markets-a-hand.html "World shares rally as China offers markets a hand") after a dismal second quarter. The world’s top exporter [Saudi Arabia](https://www.financedigest.com/sommet-education-partners-with-kingdom-of-saudi-arabias-tourism-development-fund.html "Sommet Education partners with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund") on Thursday extended its voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to the end of September, adding that it could be extended beyond then or deepened. The kingdom’s production for September will be [around 9 million](https://www.financedigest.com/supercapacitor-market-size-to-worth-around-usd-5979-67-million-by-2026-tmr.html "Supercapacitor Market Size to Worth around USD 5,979.67 Million by 2026 – TMR") bpd. [Russia said on Thursday would cut oil](https://www.financedigest.com/oil-eases-as-russia-downplays-additional-opec-cuts.html "Oil eases as Russia downplays additional OPEC+ cuts") exports by 300,000 bpd in September. In addition, a Russian warship was last week seriously damaged in a Ukrainian naval drone attack on Russia’s [Black Sea](https://www.financedigest.com/kremlin-remains-downbeat-on-state-of-black-sea-grain-deal.html "Kremlin remains downbeat on state of Black Sea grain deal") navy base at Novorossiysk. The port that handles 2% of the world’s [oil supply](https://www.financedigest.com/oil-climbs-close-to-april-peak-on-tighter-supply.html "Oil climbs close to April peak on tighter supply") has resumed operations. In line with production cuts, Saudi Aramco raised on Saturday the official selling prices for most grades it sells to Asia for a [third month](https://www.financedigest.com/sentiment-among-german-exporters-falls-for-third-month-in-a-row-ifo.html "Sentiment among German exporters falls for third month in a row -Ifo") in September. OPEC+’s output cuts, [China’s stimulus](https://www.financedigest.com/european-shares-rally-as-china-stimulus-lifts-recovery-hopes.html "European shares rally as China stimulus lifts recovery hopes") measures, and an improved U.S. [economic outlook](https://www.financedigest.com/oil-up-as-market-weighs-supply-cuts-against-gloomy-economic-outlook.html "Oil up as market weighs supply cuts against gloomy economic outlook") are supporting crude prices, CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said in a note, although she said prices were approaching near-term resistance of their April highs. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said a sustained break for WTI above $84.00 a barrel would open a [move towards](https://www.financedigest.com/the-frozen-fruits-market-to-move-towards-digital-health.html "The Frozen Fruits Market To Move Towards Digital Health") $93.50. Investors will watch for Chinese economic data this week to gauge Beijing’s appetite for more stimulus measures to support the [world’s second-largest economy](https://www.financedigest.com/gas-price-surge-just-one-more-headwind-for-world-economy.html "Gas price surge, just one more headwind for world economy"). In the U.S., the number of operating oil rigs fell by four to 525 last week, dropping for an eighth week in a row to their [lowest since](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-unemployment-hits-lowest-since-1974-but-jobs-boom-is-fading.html "UK unemployment hits lowest since 1974 but jobs boom is fading") March 2022, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report on Friday. (Reporting by Florence Tan and Emily Chow; Editing by Jamie Freed and Miral Fahmy) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---