Oil rises above $68 after Saudi cuts supplies
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil rose above $68 on Tuesday, after industry sources said Saudi Arabia had already made substantial cuts in crude supplies and helped the market recoup earlier losses.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has reduced exports by around 900,000 barrels per day from a peak in August, one source estimated.
U.S. crude was up $4.49 at $68.40 a barrel by 10:54 a.m. EST. It had touched a session low earlier of $62.25. Oil suffered its biggest monthly drop ever in October.
London Brent crude was up $4.10 at $64.58 a barrel. Earlier Brent had touched a 20-month low of $58.38.
“The petroleum markets have rebounded from lower overnight levels on a trio of supportive factors: a weaker U.S. dollar, a push to the upside in global equity markets and market talk that Saudi Arabia may have already cut crude oil production,” Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures Perspective, said in a research note.
Earlier, the market had fallen more than a dollar, pressured partly by expectations oil refiners would have to cut output because of weak demand for fuel.
All markets were awaiting the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.