LONDON (Reuters) – This week’s surprise decision by Saudi Arabia and other top oil producers to broadly stick with output cuts despite rising crude prices was influenced by events in an unexpected place – Italy. Restrictions on movement destroyed up to a fifth of oil demand last year and led OPEC and its allies – known as OPEC+ – to make record output cuts. OECD oil stocks in December were around 140 million barrels above the latest 5-year average, the latest OPEC data shows. The IMF projects Saudi Arabia’s fiscal breakeven oil price for 2021 at about $68 a barrel, down from about $78 a barrel in 2020. Former U.S. President Donald Trump regularly pushed Saudi Arabia to hike output to avoid price spikes.

Source: Egypt Independent March 05, 2021 17:15 UTC