Crude oil ended higher on Monday as news that Saudi Arabia pledged to lower crude exports and Nigeria plans to limit its production sent prices higher for the first time in three sessions, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
September West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 57 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $46.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
September Brent crude, the global benchmark, tacked on 54 cents, or 1.1%, to end trading at $48.60 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
At the OPEC meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia on Monday, energy ministers from major crude-producing nations met to discuss the ongoing production curb agreement.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, agreed to limit its exports at 6.6 million barrels a day, while Nigeria also committed to taking part in production cuts if it reaches a production level of 1.8 million barrels a day.
OPEC members had agreed to reduce their output by about 1.2 million barrels a day beginning January 1 through the end of March next year. Tanker tracker Petro-Logistics on Friday reported that OPEC output is expected to top 33 million barrels a day this month, up 145,000 barrels a day from June.
August natural gas fell 7.1 cents, or 2.4%, to settle at $2.899 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.