Oil prices slump as OPEC and Russia consider output boost

Oil prices slump as OPEC and Russia consider output boost
# 25 May 2018 19:51 (UTC +04:00)

Oil prices fell about $3 per barrel on Friday as Saudi Arabia and Russia discussed easing supply curbs that have helped push crude prices to their highest since 2014, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell $2.69, or 3.4 percent, to $76.10 a barrel by 1:07 p.m. EDT (1707 GMT). The contract hit its highest since late 2014 at $80.50 last week. Brent was on track to fall about 3.1 percent this week, which would be its largest weekly percentage loss since early April.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell $3.04 to $67.67 a barrel, a 4.3 percent loss. Following six weeks of gains, WTI was set to lose about 5.1 percent for the week, which would be its biggest loss since early February.

The discount of WTI to Brent WTCLc1-LCOc1 hit $8.53 per barrel, its widest since May 17, and not far off levels last seen three years ago.

The energy ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia met in St. Petersburg to review the terms of a global oil supply pact that has been in place for 17 months, ahead of a key OPEC meeting in Vienna next month.

The ministers, along with their counterpart from the United Arab Emirates, discussed an output increase of about 1 million barrels per day (bpd), sources told Reuters.

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