Oil Prices Rise After Saudi Arabia Announces Production Cut

Oil prices continued to rise on Wednesday, a day after Saudi Arabia announced that it would cut production.

The Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman called the voluntary cut a “gesture of goodwill” to support the global crude markets, during a meeting of the OPEC+ alliance. The cut includes one million barrels per day in February and March, as well as other agreed-upon reductions in production.

Brent crude rose 1.6% to $54.45 a barrel on Wednesday morning after a rise of 5% on Tuesday following the Saudi announcement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 1%, to $50.45 a barrel. Both are the highest prices since Feb. 26, 2020.

Also during the OPEC+ meeting, member countries agreed to keep output steady in February and March, while allowing Russia and Kazakhstan to raise output by 75,000 barrels per day due to extra seasonal demand in their countries.