Die Oil prices fall, though Saudi Arabia and OPEC have announced they will cut oil production. Benchmark Brent crude prices continue to hover below $76 a barrel, despite Saudi Arabia’s announcement on Sunday that it will cut production by 1 million barrels a day in July and possibly beyond.
Despite the announced production cut should oil prices post their second weekly loss in a row. OPEC crude oil production already fell -500.00 bpd in May to a 16-month low of 28.26 million bpd. The Oil prices initially rose earlier in the week, after Saudi Arabia surprisingly announced further production cuts. But prices quickly fell again after reports of rising US fuel inventories and weak Chinese export data.
Great influence will also the further development of interest rates because rising interest rates make it more expensive for importers to buy oil. A Reuters poll of economists had revealed that the US Federal Reserve might not hike interest rates at its June 13-14 meeting. However, the ECB already has one further interest rate hike announced and other major central banks could follow.