Saudi Arabia will not cut oil output on its own to stabilize the market, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Wednesday as Nigeria and Russia said it is too early to signal whether they would join any production curbs.
Oil producer group OPEC and its allies, led by Russia, meet in Vienna next week against the backdrop of concerns over a slowing global economy and rising oil supplies from the United States, which is not involved in an existing agreement to restrain output.
The negative economic outlook helped to push oil LCOc1 below $60 a barrel this week from as high as $85 in October, prompting Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to suggest significant production cuts.
Riyadh, however, has come under renewed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who asked the kingdom to refrain from output reductions and help to lower oil prices further.
Possibly complicating any decision on oil output is the crisis around the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month. Trump has backed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite calls from many U.S. politicians to impose stiff sanctions on Riyadh.
