Brent falls as Trump calls on Saudis, OPEC to up output

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The price of Brent oil was down at the start of the new week on Monday following U.S. President Donald Trump's request to Saudi Arabia and OPEC to boost their production levels to offset Iranian output declines, caused by the end of U.S.' export waivers.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $71.19 per barrel at 0615 GMT for a 1.33% decline after it closed Friday at $72.15 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate, however, was trading at $62.89 a barrel at the same time, for a 0.07% gain, after ending the previous session at $62.84 per barrel.

"Spoke to Saudi Arabia and others about increasing oil flow. All are in agreement," Trump said on Friday, April 26 via Twitter, urging the cartel and its heavyweight to increase their oil supplies in order to keep crude prices low.

OPEC and Russia-led non-OPEC agreed on Dec. 7, 2018 to cut their total output by 1.2 million barrels per day in order to bring balance to the global oil market and raise crude prices.

The U.S., however, announced on Monday, April 22 that it would not extend the waivers for eight countries that import Iranian oil beyond 180 days.

With waivers set to end on May 2, and to prevent a decline in global supply and a price rise, the U.S. asked Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to commit to offsetting the fall in Iranian supply.

"We have agreed to take timely action to assure that global demand is met as all Iranian oil is removed from the market," the White House said in a statement last Monday.