Reuters reported that according to the average estimate of six second-hand sources used to monitor production by OPEC, which the reporter saw, the 11 OPEC member states have reduced supply to 29.921 million barrels per day according to the agreed production target. According to OPEC's calculations, this is equivalent to a 92% cash rate, which is higher than most analysts expect.
According to data used by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to monitor supply, OPEC members fulfilled their commitment to cut production in January, setting a strong start to implement the first production cut agreement in eight years.
OPEC has cut production by about 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1 to raise oil prices and reduce excess supply. Russia and 10 other non-OPEC members agreed to cut production by 600,000 barrels per day.
Reuters quoted sources as saying that this is the highest fulfillment rate in OPEC's history, far exceeding the 60% achievement rate of OPEC's previous agreement in 2009, and also shows that the level of compliance is quite high. This is encouraging news.
Two other OPEC sources said that the 11 non-OPEC oil-producing countries that have joined the production cut agreement will have a 40% cash reduction rate in January. It also said that OPEC's calculation is based on data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
This Friday, WTI crude oil futures price rose 86 cents, or 1.6%, to close at $53.86 a barrel, the highest closing price since February 1, but was only 3 cents higher than last Friday's closing price of $53.83. Brent crude oil futures price rose $1.07, or 1.9%, to close at $56.70 a barrel, down 0.2% from last Friday's closing price.
