NEW YORK: Oil prices were little changed in volatile trade on Tuesday as a stronger US dollar and demand concerns offset supply worries after Russia said Opec+ was ready to deepen output cuts in the first quarter of next year.

Brent futures fell 29 cents, or 0.45 per cent, to $77.74 a barrel by 12:30 p.m. EST, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 20 cents, or 0.35pc, to $72.84.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was reported as saying that Opec+ stands ready to deepen oil production cuts in the first quarter of 2024 to eliminate “speculation and volatility” if existing actions to cut production were not enough.

On Nov 30, Opec+ agreed to output cuts of about 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) for the first quarter of 2024. But at least 1.3mbpd of those cuts were an extension of voluntary curbs Saudi Arabia and Russia already had in place.

Analysts at FGE, an energy consultancy, said the additional Opec+ cuts were below the 1 mbpd reduction the market expected, noting the group was only likely to deliver cuts closer to 500,000 bpd compared to the fourth quarter.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2023