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Oil prices stabilise after slump on OPEC+ cuts

Oil prices were broadly steady on Friday following a two per cent drop on Thursday, with the market unconvinced that the latest round of production cuts by the OPEC+ coalition will be able to lift prices out of their recent slump.

Brent crude futures for February rose by 1 cent, or 0.01per cent, to $80.87 a barrel by 1325 GMT on their first day as the front-month ICE Brent contract.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $76.11.

OPEC+ producers agreed on Thursday to remove around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from the global market in the first quarter of next year, with the total including a rollover of Saudi Arabia and Russia's 1.3 million bpd of current voluntary cuts.

OPEC+, which pumps over 40per cent of the world's oil, is focusing on reducing output as prices have fallen from about $98 in late September amid concerns over weaker economic growth in 2024.