Brent oil futures slide on reports Russia will not agree to extra cuts

Russia is willing to extend the existing oil output curbs agreed with other OPEC+ countries until June, but for the moment refuses to participate in extra reductions.

Reports citing a high-level source said that Moscow also signalled that its position will not change.

According to Bloomberg data, as of 25 February, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries alone was producing 24.71m barrels a day of crude oil, versus an output target of 25.146m b/d, having pledged a cut of 1.168m b/d from a reference output level 26.3m b/d.

In January, the oil cartel plus its main allies, Kazhakstan and Russia, had agreed an additional minimum reduction of 500,000 b/d, although Ecuador's exit from the group of producing countries and a decision to allow Russia to exclude condensate from its production figures meant that reduction would be easier to fulfill.

And on 5 March, OPEC pushed for a further 1.5m b/d reduction in the combined production of OPEC+ countries, which includes Russia and Kazhakstan.

But in the end no agreement whatsoever was reached and analysts at Capital Economics said that it was unclear whether OPEC would go it alone and cut output further.

Hence, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak reportedly also said that from 1 April there would be no restrictions on oil output, but that an increase had not been decided on.

Delegates from OPEC member countries were also reportedly displaying a willingness to break their alliance with Russia.

As of 1649 GMT, front month Brent crude oil futures were falling 8.53% to $46.05 per barrel on the ICE.

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