NEW YORK: Oil prices were little changed in volatile trade on Tuesday as a stronger US dollar and demand concerns offset supply worries after Russia said OPEC+ was ready to deepen output cuts in the first quarter of next year. Brent futures fell 29 cents, or 0.45%, to $77.74 a barrel by 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 20 cents, or 0.35%, to $72.84.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was reported as saying that OPEC+ stands ready to deepen oil production cuts in the first quarter of 2024 to eliminate “speculation and volatility” if existing actions to cut production were not enough.
OPEC+ groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia. On Nov. 30, OPEC+ agreed to output cuts of about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter of 2024. But at least 1.3 million bpd of those cuts were an extension of voluntary curbs Saudi Arabia and Russia already had in place. Analysts at FGE, an energy consultancy, said the additional OPEC+ cuts were below the 1 million bpd reduction the market expected, noting the group was only likely to deliver cuts closer to 500,000 bpd compared to the fourth quarter.
The Kremlin said the OPEC+ production cuts will take time to kick in. President Vladimir Putin will visit OPEC members the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and host Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow on Thursday.
Russia’s oil and gas revenues dropped in November to 961.7 billion roubles ($10.53 billion) from 1.635 trillion roubles in the previous month due to the cyclical nature of profit-based tax payments.
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