Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Markets
Economics

OPEC Confounds Skeptics, Agrees to First Oil Cuts in 8 Years

  • Broader than expected agreement to include non-OPEC countries
  • Benchmark Brent crude prices climb in London to top $50
Video player cover image

Is OPEC Back After Oil Production Cut Deal?

Updated on

OPEC confounded its doubters and sent crude oil prices soaring by agreeing to its first production cuts in eight years.

The deal, designed to drain record global oil inventories, overcame disagreements between the group’s three largest producers -- Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq -- and ended a flirtation with free markets that started in 2014. It was also broader than many had expected, extending beyond OPEC. Most strikingly, Russia agreed to unprecedented cuts to its own output.