Oil prices soared to their highest level since mid-April following an attack on a key Russian oil export hub and prolonged production cutbacks by OPEC kingpins Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Brent futures were trading at $86.17 a barrel, the highest since April 14. US West Texas Intermediate futures dipped 0.1% to $82.74 per barrel, maintaining above mid-April highs.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, extended its voluntary crude oil output cut of a million barrels per day to the end of September on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia approved a million barrels per day decrease in July and August, and the cut “may be continued or extended and strengthened,” according to the state-owned Saudi Press Agency last week.
Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter, also vowed on Thursday to reduce oil shipments by 300,000 million barrels per day in September on its own initiative.
