Fitch assesses OPEC + decision for oil market

The OPEC + decision on the deal's parameters for February and March is positive for the oil market, as it reduces the chances of its return to excess supply and should support oil prices.

Report informs, senior director in Fitch Ratings' Natural Resources and Commodities team Dmitry Marinchenko said.
OPEC +, following the December 5 meeting, determined the parameters of its deal two months in advance: the current terms of the agreement were extended for almost all countries, but Russia and Kazakhstan got the opportunity to increase production in February and March, while Saudi Arabia and several other participants, on the contrary, decided to reduce it further.

"The news is positive for the market: OPEC + generally will not increase production yet. Therefore market may not go into a surplus and should support prices, "Marinchenko believes.

He noted that Russia and Kazakhstan's conditions put these countries in the most advantageous position of all participants in the transaction.
"It is good that the OPEC + countries were able to reach a consensus, but this decision suggests that the negotiations were not easy and the participating countries had different views on how to act in the current conditions," - the expert emphasized.