Oil prices rally after OPEC meeting

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Oil prices soared on Monday after major oil producers said in a meeting in Vienna, Austria, that the global market was well on its way towards rebalancing.

It was reported that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and several other oil producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day since the start of 2017, helping lift oil prices by about 15 percent in the past three months.

Kuwait's oil minister, who chaired Friday's meeting among major oil producers, said output curbs were helping cut global crude inventories to their five-year average, OPEC's stated target.

Meanwhile, Russia's energy minister said no decision was expected before next January, although other ministers suggested such a decision could be taken before the end of this year, according to Reuters.

Moreover, the number of rigs operating in US oil fields fell by four to a total of 744 rigs this week, according to data released by oilfield service firm Baker Hughes on Friday.

The West Texas Intermediate for November Delivery added 1.56 dollars to settle at 52.22 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery gained 2.16 dollars to close at 59.02 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency