Oil rose to one-year high after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that his country was ready to join OPEC efforts to stem the decline in crude prices through a output cap, said a report.
Speaking at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul, Putin said he hoped the producers’ group would decide at its next ministerial meeting in November to adopt quotas for member countries’ output, reported The Financial Times.
Last month, OPEC countries reached an agreement in Algiers to curb production to between 32.5m and 33m barrels a day. But details for a binding deal to reduce supply, which would be the first since the financial crisis, still need to be finalised.
Putin said the fall in prices by more than 50 per cent since mid-2014 had triggered the longest period of investment decline in 45 years. The drop in funding into future production could lead to “unpredictable jumps” in prices. Brent crude, the international benchmark, increased as much as $1.47 to $53.50 a barrel after Putin’s remarks. This is the highest level since October 9 last year.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih said earlier in the day that he was optimistic a deal would be struck, but any OPEC output curbs should not be too severe.
