Oil gains as Russia-OPEC coordination talks support

The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in March, rose $1.11 to $31.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, AFP reported. In London, Brent North Sea crude for March gained $1.30 to settle at $31.80 a barrel.Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said at a conference in Kuwait that Baghdad was `ready to cooperate` on output cuts to boost prices, but only if non-OPEC producers also did so. Abdul Mahdi was also quoted by Bloomberg as outlining `flexibility` over output increases between Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported that Russian oil company Lukoil had urged the Kremlin to work with OPEC to limit production. That followed comments Monday from OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah el-Badri calling for OPEC and non-OPEC producers to cooperate to lift prices. Analysts expressed skepticism that a deal among oil producers was imminent. `(The) need for a production cut is clear -- as weve been saying for the past 18 months -- but its not yet clear whether Saudi Arabia and its OPEC allies are ready to return to the negotiating table,` said Tim Evans, an analyst at Citi Futures. `And without Saudi, there will be no deal and the market will be left to rebalance naturally as non-OPEC output falls, a process that will be slow and painful.` `The usual talk of possible coordinated production cuts with Russia and OPEC is doing the rounds again,` added CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler. `Any such action seems unlikely with US shale producers likely to use any higher prices as an opportunity to increase their own output.`(Uu.A026)
Editor: B Kunto Wibisonohttp://www.antaranews.com/berita/542175/harga-minyak-naik-didukung-pembicaraan-koordinasi-rusia-opec