Saudi Arabia, Russia Offer United Front on Oil Supply Cuts
- Global crude stocks dropping more slowly than expected
- Kingdom signals policy shift with an openness to extend cuts
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Saudi Arabia and Russia, the architects of an oil production cut that has stabilized prices, presented a united front on compliance just as rising U.S. inventories have sparked doubts about the OPEC and non-OPEC deal.
Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister, acknowledged that global crude inventories aren’t draining as quickly as he expected, opening the door for an extension of the production cuts into the second half of the year. The potential rollover is a subtle yet significant shift from just six weeks ago, when the minister said that an extension probably wouldn’t be needed.