LONDON: Brent crude oil steadied at around US$99 a barrel yesterday, after jumping on Tuesday on hopes the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) would help reduce a global supply glut by cutting output.
Prices rose by the most in two-and-a-half months on Tuesday after Opec secretary general Abdullah al-Badri said the group could trim its 2015 output target by 500,000 barrels per day. The benchmark had hit a a 26-month low the previous day on rising supplies and signs of slower demand growth in China and Europe.
Brent was up 23 cents at US$99.28 a barrel by 1330GMT, after closing up US$2.40 in the previous session, the biggest daily gain since September 3. US crude was down 21 cents to US$94.67 after rising 2.1 per cent on Tuesday.
Brent hit a high above US$115 a barrel in June on concerns an Islamist insurgency in Iraq could hit oil output in Opec’s second biggest producer. But Iraqi oil exports have been steady and rising US oil production, mostly from shale, has more than compensated for any lost output, creating a huge surplus in the Atlantic Basin and Asia. Reuters