OPEC+ Wants to Make Oil Speculators Think Twice With Shock Cut

Saudis intend to inflict pain on short-sellers of crude oil
Production cut was finalized in tight circle over several days

OPEC+ abandoned previous assurances that it would hold supply steady by announcing a surprise oil production cut of more than 1 million barrels a day. James Herron reports on Bloomberg Television.Source: Bloomberg

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By Will Kennedy, Grant Smith, and Fiona MacDonald

April 3, 2023 at 4:36 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The surprise OPEC+ production cut was aimed squarely at one audience: speculators betting that oil prices would fall.

It’s a return to the tactic first used by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in 2020, when he famously said he wants “the guys in the trading floors to be as jumpy as possible” and vowed that “whoever gambles on this market will be ouching like hell.”