OPEC reports big Saudi oil cut, boosting compliance with deal

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op OPEC oil producer Saudi Arabia made a large cut in its crude output in January to support prices and lessen a glut, helping boost compliance with the group’s supply-reduction deal to a record high of more than 90 per cent.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is curbing its output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1. Russia and 10 other non-OPEC producers agreed to cut half as much.

Supply from the 11 OPEC members with production targets under the deal fell to 29.888 million bpd last month, according to figures from secondary sources that OPEC uses to monitor its output.

OPEC published the data in its monthly report on Monday.

Oil prices pared an earlier decline after the release of the report, trading above 56.45 dollars a barrel.

The reductions amount to 93 per cent compliance, according to a Reuters calculation based on the OPEC figures.

Last month’s report pointed to a 985,000-bpd surplus. In its report, OPEC gave no compliance figure. Media saw an earlier version of the secondary-source figures last week that put compliance at 92 per cent.