Oil prices soar after 11 non-OPEC oil producers agree to cut output
by The Canadian Press
Key non-member countries have agreed to cut 558,000 barrels per day for six months starting in Jan. 2017
TORONTO—Oil prices have soared following a weekend agreement to cut back production by 11 non-OPEC countries.
January crude oil contracts were at US$53.63 per barrel as North American stock markets opened—up $2.13 from late Friday. Earlier, they traded as high as US$54.51 a barrel—a level that hasn’t been seen since the middle of last year.
The Canadian dollar was at 76.14 cents US, up 0.27 of a U.S. cent from Friday. The loonie hasn’t closed above 76 cents US since mid-October, according to Bank of Canada records.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 59.80 points at 15,372.00 shortly after North American markets opened.
In New York, the Dow industrial average was up 36.06 points at 19,792.91 and the S&P 500 was up 0.10 point at 2,259.63. The Nasdaq composite index was down 22.28 points at 5,422.22.
January natural gas contracts were down 21 cents at US$3.54 per mmBtu. February gold contracts were up $1.10 at US$1,163.00 and March copper contracts were down one cent at US$2.64 a pound.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reached a deal on Saturday that will see key non-member countries agree to cut 558,000 barrels per day for six months starting Jan. 1.
That’s on top of an OPEC decision Nov. 30 to reduce member output by 1.2 million barrels a day.
A prolonged decline in global crude prices began in late 2014 after key OPEC members decided to keep production levels high, despite a worldwide oversupply.
