Oil up $1 on Saudi plan to deepen output cuts from July
Oil prices were up $1 a barrel on Monday after top global exporter Saudi Arabia pledged to cut production by another 1 million barrels per day from July, counteracting the macroeconomic headwinds that have depressed markets.
Brent crude futures were at $77.21 a barrel, up $1.08, or 1.4 per cent, at 0515 GMT after earlier hitting a session-high of $78.73 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $1.07, or 1.5 per cent, to $72.81 a barrel, after touching an intraday high of $75.06 a barrel.
The contracts extended gains of more than 2 per cent on Friday after the Saudi energy ministry said the kingdom’s output would drop to 9 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from around 10 million bpd in May. The cut is Saudi Arabia’s biggest in years.
