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OPEC Agrees to Extend Oil Production Cuts for 9 Months

More than a dozen major oil producers, led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, have agreed to continue curbing their output until through next May.
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More than a dozen major oil producers, led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, have agreed to continue curbing their output until through next May.

OPEC, along with Russia and several other non-cartel members, agreed last December to lower their combined daily output by a combined 1.8 million barrels, or roughly 2% of global production through the first half of 2017.

The cutback is intended to shrink a worldwide glut of petroleum stockpiles, which has kept oil below $55 per barrel—less than half the price in mid-2014—for more than two years. OPEC predicts the extension will bring inventories into their normal five-year average by year-end and lead to $70 oil prices by 2020.

But analysts aren’t so sure. They note that higher oil prices is likely to trigger more North American production from oil shale, a trend that brought on the current glut.

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