Crude oil futures traded higher on Friday morning as Saudi Arabia and Russia — two of the major oil producers — announced that they will extend production cuts to September.

At 9.53 am on Friday, October Brent oil futures were at $85.28, up by 0.16 per cent, and September crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $81.76, up by 0.26 per cent.

August crude oil futures were trading at ₹6,760 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading against the previous close of ₹6,761, down by 0.01 per cent, and September futures were trading at ₹6,724 as against the previous close of ₹6,731, down by 0.10 per cent.

Supporting market balance

Quoting an official source in Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, a report by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Saudi will implement an additional voluntary cut in its production of crude oil, amounting to 1 million barrels a day.

The source said Saudi’s additional voluntary cut goes to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its allies, known as OPEC+, with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets. According to SPA, Saudi Arabia’s production for September will be around 9 million barrels a day.

A post on Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry’s website said the production output cut can be extended or extended and deepened further.

A Reuters report that quoted the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said Russia will cut oil exports by 300,000 barrels a day in September.

“Within the efforts to ensure the oil market remains balanced, Russia will continue to voluntarily reduce its oil supply in September, now by 300,000 barrels per day, by cutting its exports by that quantity to global markets,” Novak said in the report.

Russia has already announced its decision to reduce production output by around 500,000 barrels a day from March till the end of 2023.

Turmeric, dhaniya gain

Announcements by Saudi Arabia and Russia came ahead of the market monitoring committee meeting of the OPEC+, that is slated to be held later in the day.

August natural gas futures were trading at ₹213.10 on MCX, against the previous close of ₹213.70, down by 0.28 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were trading at ₹16,500, against the previous close of ₹15,940, up by 3.51 per cent.

August dhaniya (coriander) futures were trading at ₹7,642 on the NCDEX against the previous close of ₹7,498, up by 1.92 per cent.