OPEC Output Falls as Gulf Nations Step Up Delivery of Oil Cuts - Bloomberg

OPEC Output Falls as Gulf Nations Step Up Delivery of Oil Cuts - Bloomberg:

OPEC’s output declined last month as several Persian Gulf producers stepped up their implementation of cutbacks aimed at balancing global oil markets.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates reduced production in December, the final month of a round of restrictions by the cartel before it presses on with new -- and even deeper -- curbs this year.

Output from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries fell by 90,000 barrels a day to 29.55 million in December, according to a Bloomberg survey of officials, ship-tracking data and estimates from consultants including Rystad Energy AS and JBC Energy GmbH.

The campaign by OPEC and its allies to tighten supplies shored up global crude markets in 2019, pushing Brent prices up 23% despite a flood of new American shale oil and fragile fuel demand around the world. The coalition agreed early last month to deepen its curbs to prevent a new surplus forming in the first quarter.