Oil prices were on the rise on Monday following Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it would cut its oil output by one million barrels a day in July.

The price of a barrel (159 litres) of North Sea Brent for delivery in August stood at $77.03 on Monday morning, 90 cents more than on Friday.

The price of a barrel of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July delivery rose by 92 cents to $72.66.

Prices had risen even more significantly at times overnight.

Following a meeting of the oil cartel OPEC+ on Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced the cut after hours of negotiations.

The measure, which Riyadh said could be extended beyond July, comes as oil prices are declining due to a weakened global economy.

Apart from a brief increase in April, the oil price has been falling for about a year: In mid-2022, a barrel of OPEC oil cost around $115.

As early as October 2022, the alliance, with a global market share of about 40 per cent, decided to cut production by two million barrels daily.

In contrast to Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries, the United Arab Emirates could raise its production to some extent in the coming year. 

(dpa/NAN)