OPEC Output Falls Most in Almost Two Years as Saudi Cuts Begin

Kingdom’s production down by 420,000 barrels a day in December
Libya’s output cuts from Sharara field, Es Sider port outages

Why are oil markets focusing on OPEC output? Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski reports.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Grant Smith

January 2, 2019 at 5:24 PM UTC

Updated on

January 3, 2019 at 12:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Before its agreement to cut oil supplies even started, OPEC’s production plunged by the most in almost two years last month.

In a sign of the urgency felt by the cartel amid tumbling crude prices, leading member Saudi Arabia throttled back production, according to a Bloomberg survey of officials, analysts and ship-tracking data. The group’s pact to curb output only formally started this week.