Oil prices spiked 5% to near $35/bbl on Thursday following reports that Russia’s energy minister was prepared to convene with Saudi-led OPEC to discuss the possibility of an oil output cut.

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OPEC delegates have reportedly denied that there’s a planned meeting.

So far, this is just talk. But because this “talk” involves the world’s top 2 oil exporters, the market is responding, and oil prices are rising.

On Thursday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Saudi Arabia has proposed to cut oil output by up to 5% per country in order to bolster oil prices which have fallen ~70% since the summer of 2014.

This translates to an output cut for Russia of around 500,000 bpd. A Saudi official told the Wall Street Journal the proposal did not in fact come from Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh and its Persian Gulf allies “are ready to cooperate with others” to bring stability to international oil markets.

SOURCE: CNBC News