SYDNEY: Oil prices surged on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ producers announced a surprise round of output cuts, a potentially ominous sign for global inflation just days after a slowdown in U.S. price data had boosted market optimism.
Brent oil futures jumped $4.30 to $84.19 a barrel on news output would be cut by around 1.16 million barrels per day, while U.S. crude climbed $4.17 to $79.84.
The change comes before a virtual meeting of an OPEC+ ministerial panel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia.
