Kuwait oil production cut by strike

Kuwait's oil company said its daily production was cut by more than half following a strike by public sector workers.

The state-owned firm said output had fallen on Sunday from 3.0m barrels a day to 1.1m barrels a day.

Public sector employees were said to be protesting against plans to reduce waged and incentives.

Prior to the start of Sunday's strike, unions had called on the government to cancel the proposed reforms.

Oil ministry spokesman Sheikh Talal al-Khaled reportedly said that exports remained normal and production was “on the rise”.

Also on Sunday, several of the world's main crude oil producers failed to reach an agreement on freezing their output at January's levels, despite reports earlier in the day that an agreement was close.

Several reports referenced a last minute change of stance by several Gulf nations as the reason why no deal was reached.

As of 10:58 BST front month Brent crude futures were falling 2.3% to $42.13 per barrel on the ICE.