Oil price falls as deal flags

OIL fell sharply yesterday as the world’s leading producers struggled to reach a deal on reducing output to boost flagging prices.

The Opec cartel postponed announcing an expected cut in production as it awaited a commitment from non-cartel member Russia before deciding on volumes.

Brent crude fell over 3 per cent to below $60 a barrel and is down by about 30 per cent since the start of October amid concerns at a supply glut and faltering demand.

Downward pressure on prices has also come from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates raising output since June after US President Donald Trump called for higher output to offset lower exports from Opec’s third biggest producer, Iran.

Worries over a slowdown in global growth have driven down share prices in recent weeks, including wiping over £50billion from Britain’s top flight companies yesterday. Opec is understood to be looking at a reduction of between 0.5 million to 1.5million barrels per day.

But analysts said Russia could find it harder to cut output in winter than other producers because of the cold weather.

Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said: “We still want Russia to cut as much as possible. I’m not confident but I hope to reach a deal.”

The latest slide came as figures showed America becoming a net exporter of oil for the first time in decades.

US crude exports surged in the week to November 30 to more than 3.2 million barrels a day, according the country’s Energy Information Administration.

It exported a net 211,000 barrels, the first time this has happened, according to US Energy Department figures dating to 1973.