Oil steadies after brief slide

Oil steadied yesterday, as expectations of output cuts from OPEC and allied producers brought prices back up after they slid briefly following comments from US President Donald Trump that a trade deal with China may be delayed. Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 5 cents to $60.97 a barrel by 11:18 a.m.

EST (1618 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 9 cents to $56.05 a barrel. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, are discussing a plan to increase an existing supply cut of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by a further 400,000 bpd and extend the pact until June, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Tuesday said he expected this week’s meeting to be constructive but added that Moscow had yet to finalize its position. Vagit Alekperov, CEO of Russia’s second-biggest oil producer, Lukoil, said it would not be expedient to deepen production cuts in the winter, especially for Russia.

Goldman Sachs on Monday said OPEC+ is likely to extend output curbs through June but expects the “uneventful” three-month extension to provide little support to prices. The factors behind this view included a large increase in production from legacy nonOPEC projects and an as yet uncertain outlook for demand growth, it added.

JPMorgan said in a note on Tuesday that it expects OPEC+ to agree to deepen the production cut to 1.5 million bpd until the end of 2020. OPEC ministers meet in Vienna on Thursday and the broader OPEC+ group gathers on Friday