Putin, Trump and Saudi king welcome agreement to reduce oil production

According to the Kremlin, the three heads of state had a telephone conversation about the agreement reached by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel, which is expected to stabilize the market, following the sharp drop in consumption due to pandemic covid - 19 .

"The leaders supported the agreement reached within OPEC on the voluntary and gradual limitation of oil production to stabilize world markets and guarantee the sustainability of the global economy", announced the Kremlin after the phone call.

Donald Trump also commented on the result of the agreement on the social network Twitter: "It will save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the energy sector in the United States".

"I want to thank and congratulate President Putin and King Salman of Saudi Arabia. I just spoke to them from the White House. Good deal for everyone!", He added. Also according to the Kremlin, Putin and Trump also held a separate telephone conversation, in which they exchanged views on the situation in the oil market and highlighted the "great importance" of cooperation within OPEC to reduce oil production.

OPEC and other producers today reached an agreement to raise prices by cutting production by 9.7 million barrels per day from 01 in May, according to sources linked to the negotiations.

The cut announced today represents one tenth of the global supply, according to sector officials from several countries that participated in the negotiations, which is an unprecedented agreement. Due to the consequences of the spread of the virus covid - 19 , with the impact on the economy and the decrease in the consumption, the OPEC Joint Technical Committee has been recommending cuts in oil production.

The Minister of Energy of Mexico said today, in a message on the social network Twitter that the group agreed to cut 9.7 million barrels per day, starting from 01 May, information confirmed by Kuwait Oil Minister of Petroleum, Khaled al-Fadhel on the same social network.

The Minister of Petroleum of Iran also wrote on Twitter that the cut will be made in the months of May and June, and that the countries agreed that Mexico will cut production in 100 thousand barrels during those months.

The objective of the agreement is to find a solution to the rapid fall in oil prices due to the collapse of demand and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The covid - 19 pandemic has unbalanced a market in which the global supply was already in surplus and now finds in proportions rarely seen, with travel restrictions taken in all countries to prevent the spread of the disease.

A new meeting is scheduled for 10 in June, also by videoconference, "to decide on additional measures, as much as necessary to balance the market".

The agreement also provides for a level of reduction in production between January 2021 and April 2022.

The new coronavirus, responsible for the pandemic of the covid - 19 , has already caused the death of more than 112 thousand people and infected more than 1.6 million in 193 countries and territories.

Of the cases of infection, more than 330 thousand are considered cured. After appearing in China in December, the outbreak spread throughout the world, which led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic situation.