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All time high: US oil prices close at $51.35 a barrel, highest for 2016

Oil prices were further propelled by remarks from Saudi Energy Minister predicting oil prices could rise further

Afp October 11, 2016

The word oil is pictured on an oil bank at a recycling yard in London March 2, 2011. PHOTO:REUTERS

NEW YORK: The US oil prices finished at their highest level of 2016 on Monday after President Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to align with OPEC’s push to limit oil output.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery jumped $1.54 to $51.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since July 2015.

Putin said Russia would support the agreement in principle reached last month by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to limit output. OPEC is scheduled to meet in November to hash out details of the agreement.

“In the current situation, we believe a freeze or a cutting of the production of oil is the only way to preserve the stability of the energy sector and accelerate a rebalancing of the market,” Putin said at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul.

Oil prices were further propelled by remarks from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih predicting oil prices could rise further.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2016.

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