The Opec+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) recommended no changes to the alliance's output policy when it met today, but underlined again its readiness to take action at short notice should market dynamics require.
"The committee reaffirmed the commitment of its member countries to the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) which extends to the end of 2024," the Opec secretariat said at the meeting's conclusion.
The technical group bringing together the ministers of key Opec+ producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, met against a backdrop of sliding prices, likely due to signs of continued macroeconomic weakness not only in China, but also the Atlantic basin. Front month Ice Brent futures have slipped this week to below $90/bl for the first time since early September, and are down from a near-term peak of more than $94/bl around one week ago.
Twin announcements by Saudi Arabia and Russia ahead of the meeting, reaffirming their previously communicated intentions to stick with their respective voluntary crude supply cuts until the end of the year, did little to underpin prices.
Saudi Arabia has been implementing an additional 1mn b/d cut to its production since July, capping its output at around 9mn b/d, while Russia has been limiting its exports. Moscow in July announced a 500,000 b/d cut in its exports for August, which it tempered to 300,000 b/d from September.
The JMMC nonetheless said it will "continue to closely assess market conditions" and that Opec+ members "stand ready to take additional measures at any time."
Saudi Arabia and Russia today said they would each review next month their decisions to extend their supply cuts until the end of the year, leaving open the possibility for change.
The next meeting of the JMMC is scheduled for 26 November, and a full ministerial Opec+ meeting is scheduled for the same day.
