Brent above $100 a barrel amid talk of OPEC production cuts‎

Brent crude, the benchmark, rose above $100 a barrel on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia indicated this week that OPEC may consider cutting production in response to poor liquidity in the oil market and concerns about a downturn in the global economy.

By 0850 GMT, Brent crude for October delivery reached its highest level in three weeks, and was trading up $1.30, or 1.3%, at $101.52 a barrel.

According to “Reuters”, US crude increased by $1.18, or also 1.3%, to trade at $94.92 a barrel.

Both contracts rose on Tuesday after Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman indicated the possibility of production cuts due to poor liquidity in the futures market and concerns about the macro economy.

But OPEC sources later said that potential production cuts in the OPEC + group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, would likely coincide with Iran’s return to the oil markets if it reached a nuclear deal with the West.

On Monday, a senior US official said Iran had given up some of its key demands on reviving the deal.

Sources said that OPEC + production is already below the target by 2.9 million barrels per day, which will complicate any decision on cuts or how to calculate the baseline for production cuts.

US crude stocks fell by 5.6 million barrels in the week ending August 19, according to market sources, citing figures from the American Petroleum Institute, against analysts’ estimates of a decrease of 900 thousand barrels.