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Oil prices steadied on Friday, with benchmark Brent crude trading just below $60 a barrel, buoyed by comments from Saudi Arabia’s crown prince backing the extension of OPEC-led output cuts.
Brent LCOc1 was unchanged at $59.30 by 0840 GMT, after Thursday’s rise to $59.55, its highest since July 2015. The contract is more than 30 percent above 2017 lows touched in June, reports Reuters.
US light crude oil CLc1 was down 4 cents at $52.60 but still 25 per cent above its June 2017 low. US crude prices have been capped by rising US production.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman told Reuters on Thursday the kingdom would support extending the output cut in a bid to stabilise oil demand and supply.
The OPEC and some non-OPEC producers including Russia have pledged to reduce their production by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of March to drain a global supply glut.
OPEC is expected to discuss extending that agreement at a meeting in Vienna on Nov. 30.
However, rising US crude production remains an issue for OPEC as it strives to clear a global overhang.
US crude production C-OUT-EIA rose by 1.1 million bpd to 9.5 million bpd in the week ended Oct. 20, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.