OPEC, partners face stiff test to agree oil cut deal

OPEC President and Energy Minister of the United Arab Emirates Suhail al-Mazrouei (4th R) opens the 175th OPEC Conference of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria on December 6, 2018. (AFP)

• Amid sharp differences over which way to go, the oil market continued under pressure
• A glut on the market has led to oil prices falling by more than 30 percent

VIENNA: OPEC ministers resumed talks on Friday before further discussions with 10 key partner countries, including Russia, later in the day to thrash out an agreement on production cuts.
Amid sharp differences over which way to go, the oil market continued under pressure.
In early trade Friday, the price of Brent, the European benchmark, was again under the symbolic $60 mark after a slump Thursday when the cartel failed to reach an expected accord on cuts to stem price falls.
“No, I am not confident” about the chances of a deal, Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih told reporters after a long day of negotiations at OPEC headquarters in Vienna.
However, OPEC and non-OPEC members — who combined account for around half of global output — agree on one thing: a glut on the market has led to oil prices falling by more than 30 percent in the space of two months.