OPEC’s market leader, Saudi Arabia, said it expects to lift output and output to 2 million barrels per day by mid-2018.
Oil production has been trending down as a result.
OPEC and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut output to keep prices from rising above $50 per barrel.
The deal comes after U.S. crude production fell for the second straight month in March, and is seen as a potential signal of more robust demand from global consumers.
“This is a big day for OPEC, a big win for the oil market and a big victory for the U.K. and the U., which is now in a very bullish market,” said David Lippman, head of commodities at RBC Capital Markets.
“I think it’s very good news for the markets.”
The United Kingdom’s benchmark oil price fell $2.83, or 2.7%, to $49.80 per barrel on Thursday, according to Bloomberg data.
The U..
S.-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Thursday that Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, fell $1.37, or 3.5%, to settle at $4933.21.
Brent was down more than 1% in 2017, its steepest drop in more than three years.
It was last down more $1,100, or 8%, in 2016.
The price of Brent crude rose in April, before falling to $48.96 per barrel in May, its lowest since March 2017.
The Commodities Futures Exchange, which tracks the global market for futures contracts, said Thursday prices fell as much as 2.4% in the U